States can expand, then scale back Medicaid program, official says

From Business Courier: (click for full article)

Medicaid expansion doesn’t have to be forever, a federal official said.

States can expand their programs and then later scale them back, said Cindy Mann of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to the American Hospital Association.

Expanded state Medicaid programs, with coverage for people making as much as 133 percent of federal poverty guidelines, was a provision of health care reform. But the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 ruled that states aren’t required to change their Medicaid programs. And politicians in many states are showing zero enthusiasm for making changes.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, has said he hasn’t yet decided whether to pursue an expansion of the program, which now covers 2.2 million Ohioans. A decision is likely to come next year as the next two-year state budget is negotiated.