Officials in ten states are giving consideration, in one form or another, to permitting uninsured low-income residents to buy into their Medicaid programs.

So while Washington considers the possibility of Medicare for all, the ten states – Nevada, New Mexico, California, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin – are tackling the many issues they must address if they intend to pursue such a ground-breaking option.  Among them:

• Who would be eligible to participate?
• What benefits would be offered?
• Would health plans be available on Affordable Care Act health exchanges, and if so, would ACA subsidies be available to potential purchasers?
• How would cost-sharing, such as premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, be addressed?
• In the absence of federal matching funds, how would the states pay for their share of Medicaid benefits purchased by those not eligible for Medicaid?
• Would such as effort be approved by the federal government?

To the extent that Medicaid buy-in would turn uninsured patients into insured patients, Medicaid buy-in would be beneficial for private safety-net hospitals.

Learn more about what the states are considering and the potential obstacles they face in the Stateline article “Medicaid ‘Buy-In’ Could Be a New Health Care Option for the Uninsured.”