CBO: Slower Growth in Exchange and Medicaid Enrollment

The Congressional Budget Office released its new economic outlook yesterday and predicts a slower start to enrollment in the new exchanges: 7 million people in 2014 — down from 9 million last July — and rising by 2016. The CBO report also estimates that 8 million people will enroll in Medicaid in 2014, so about 15 million people will obtain health insurance next year.

CBO says those numbers will jump, and quickly. By 2016, 24 million people will get coverage through the exchanges and 11 million through Medicaid. By 2024, they’ll be at 26 million and 12 million, respectively.  CBO attributed the slower start to a number of factors, including “the readiness of exchanges to provide a broad array of new insurance options, the ability of state Medicaid programs to absorb new beneficiaries, and people’s responses to the availability of the new coverage.”

CBO warned that the impact of the health law is a “source of great uncertainty” and said it’s difficult to assess the full impact of the law, much of which hasn’t been established in regulation or implemented yet.

Resources

Visit our website to learn how Gorman Health Group can help you develop and/or execute on a unique model of care for Medicaid Plans.

Gorman Health Group policy expert Jean LeMasurier provides a summary of proposed rule CMS-2334-P, which reflects new statutory Medicaid and CHIP eligibility provisions.

Listen to a discussion focused on the lessons learned from MA and Part D when it comes to product strategy in the Exchanges.

Hear Gorman Health Group experts discuss the Federal Facilitated Exchange (FFE) and implications for health plans.