Mark E. Lutes, Chair of the firm’s Board of Directors and a Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, Bob Atlas, a Strategic Advisor and President of EBG Advisors, Inc., and Jonathan K. Hoerner, an Associate in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, authored an article in the Bloomberg BNA Health Law Reporter, titled “New Approaches to Medicaid Expansions in the New Administration.”
Following is an excerpt (see below to download the full report in PDF format):
Alexander Graham Bell famously remarked, “Whenever one door closes, another opens.” Surely that will be the case for health-care investing fueled by Medicaid expansion, even after portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have been repealed and, in some cases, replaced.
A qualification before we continue: No one can say for sure whether Congress will or will not repeal the Medicaid expansion feature of the Affordable Care Act. However, most knowledgeable observers believe Congress will not act precipitously to take coverage away from the estimated 8.5 million Americans who were newly made eligible for Medicaid in the 32 states (including Washington, DC) that have expanded Medicaid. And even though the federal government’s share of expansion cost is due to drop steadily from 100 percent in 2016 to 90 percent in 2020, states still see considerable economic upside from expansion.
Significantly, the state option to expand Medicaid coverage to previously uninsured adults with incomes from 101-138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) is one door that may not close. And in certain respects it may open wider.
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Chair—Board of Directors / Member of the Firm