Provisions in the Affordable Care Act that encourage states to take new approaches to serving their dually eligible residents – low-income seniors eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid – will soon translate into new state programs.

Massachusetts has already launched such an initiative, a new California program will begin in May, and 17 additional states are scheduled to begin new efforts later this year and next.

New federal policies encourage state Medicaid programs to work with Medicare in service to their dually eligible population, with the states and Medicare sharing in the savings they produce.  Currently, dually eligible patients constitute 15 percent of the Medicaid population but account for 40 percent of Medicaid’s costs and 20 percent of the Medicare population but 30 percent of Medicare’s costs.

Because they serve communities with greater-than-average proportions of low-income residents, private safety-net hospitals serve especially large numbers of dual eligibles.

How are states tackling this challenge?  Learn more in this Stateline report.