Kansas, New Hampshire Expect Increase in Medicaid Beneficiaries
The following summarizes Medicaid enrollment news in Kansas and New Hampshire:
- Kansas: The Kansas Health Policy Authority, the agency that oversees the state Medicaid program, is expecting a sharp increase in Medicaid enrollment because of the economic downturn, the Kansas Health Institute News reports. Medicaid Director Andy Allison said that Medicaid applications "this year are up about 9%," adding, "We expect that number to grow. We're confident now that it is coming," as indicated by a recent increase in applicants whose incomes were too high to qualify for the program because they receive unemployment benefits. Those benefits will begin to expire in the fall. Allison and Marcia Nielsen, executive director of KHPA, said they will ask the state Legislature to use part of the $100 million in federal economic stimulus money the state will receive to reverse cuts to the agency's budget so that it can handle the increase (Shields, KHI News, 3/17).
- New Hampshire: Medicaid enrollment in New Hampshire has reached an all-time high and is expected to continue growing, the AP/Boston Globe reports. State Medicaid Finance Director Marilee Nihan on Wednesday said that there were 108,000 Medicaid beneficiaries at the end of February, about 2,000 more beneficiaries than ever before. She said the state expects the number to increase to 119,000 in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and to 129,000 in the following year (AP/Boston Globe, 3/18).
