“What is the expansion of Medicaid in Ohio?” is a typical question applicants find themselves asking when they begin to explore Medicaid’s benefits. The Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion, also known as the ACA Medicaid expansion or the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, was enacted in 2012 to enable states to provide more health care services under Medicaid for its beneficiaries. The ACA Medicaid expansion in OH created more coverage for low-income households who previously did not qualify for benefits and thus went without health care. While the Medicaid expansion gave states the opportunity to expand medical assistance to low-income individuals and families, states had the option of whether or not to participate in the expansion. If states chose to expand Medicaid coverage, then petitioners would be able to qualify for Medicaid solely based on their household income. As long as an applicant’s household income fell below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, the applicant is qualified to receive medical assistance through Medicaid. If states choose not to participate in the Medicaid expansion, then their Medicaid coverage and qualifications remained the same. These new Obamacare Medicaid expansion details created revised Affordable Care Act Medicaid eligibility guidelines for millions of low-income households in the states that opted into the expansion. For applicants wondering, “What is the Obamacare Medicaid expansion and how does it affect Ohio?” read the sections below for more information.
Learn About the ACA Medicaid Expansion in Ohio
The Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion had 31 states along with Washington D.C. choose to participate, and Ohio is included in those 31 states. In order to opt-in for the ACA expansion of Medicaid, Ohio had to consider the ACA Medicaid expansion cost to states, as the Medicaid program is funded at both the federal and state level. After weighing state funds and comparing the budget to how much benefits would increase for Medicaid beneficiaries, OH decided opting in to the Medicaid expansion would be financially feasible.
Under the ACA Medicaid expansion, there were several policies that states were mandated to implement into their revised Medicaid program. These policies included expanded Medicaid coverage for children younger than 21 years of age. However, even before the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion, Ohio had already established many state-funded medical assistance programs, such as the Healthy Start and Healthy Families programs. When the OH Obamacare Medicaid expansion took effect, these programs were subsequently merged with the Ohio Medicaid program and thus received additional federal funding because of the expansion. To learn more about the ACA Medicaid expansion, you can download our complimentary guide.
What does opting into the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion mean for Ohio?
Although Ohio already had expanded health care assistance programs, the Obamacare expansion of Medicaid in Ohio allowed the state to establish even more Medicaid health care services for Medicaid recipients. In Ohio, expanded Medicaid services included mental health services, physical and occupation therapy and medical care for alcohol and drug addiction. Additionally, the OH ACA Medicaid expansion enabled Ohio to implement preventative care services for its beneficiaries. Preventative care services include regular testing for Medicaid members along with diagnostic treatment. Along with the preventative care the Medicaid expansion in Ohio provides, long-term care policies were integrated into Ohio’s Medicaid coverage. The long-term care policies added under Medicaid’s coverage means individuals in need of personal care, whether at home or in a facility, can receive these services under the expansion of Medicaid if they were not qualified to receive them before. To learn more about Medicaid services, download our comprehensive guide today.
Additionally, the Affordable Care Act Medicaid application in Ohio is now a single application for anyone wishing to apply for any type of government-funded medical assistance. This means OH Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act is easier for both applicants and the application process because eligibility can be determine for various forms of coverage in one process. As for the Ohio state government, the ACA Medicaid expansion means the federal government will match the increase in provider payment funds by 100 percent until 2019. In 2020, the match by the federal government is expected to decrease to 90 percent. Additionally, under the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, the federal government offers increased funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which enables to state to provide more health services and coverage to young children and expectant mothers.
Overall, since Ohio decided to accept the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion, the state has been able to provide more health care services to individuals and families covered by Medicaid. Furthermore, with the Ohio Medicaid expansion, at least 3 million Ohioans are covered by Medicaid insurance, which means more residents are receiving health care.