Public Strongly Supports States Accepting Federal Funds to Cover More People Through Medicaid

(Washington, D.C.) In a new national survey sponsored by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families (CCF), a strong majority said their state should accept federal dollars included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to cover more uninsured people through Medicaid.

“This opportunity for states to expand health coverage to many more uninsured women is truly unprecedented,” said Judy Waxman, NWLC Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights. “This is a win for uninsured Americans and a win for the states.”

The federal money will cover 100% of costs in the first few years and will ultimately pay for 90% of costs of this coverage. If all states accept the federal money, an additional 15 million uninsured Americans, including 7 million women and 5 million parents, stand to gain access to a comprehensive set of health benefits, such as mammograms, preventive health screenings, and treatment for chronic conditions.

Because last year’s Supreme Court decision made accepting these funds optional, some residents of states that turn down federal funding will earn too much to be covered by Medicaid but too little to qualify for premium tax credits to purchase coverage in the new health insurance marketplace.

“The public understands how inherently unfair it would be for a group of hard-working people to be left out of coverage simply because their state turned down the federal money,” said Joan Alker, Co-Executive Director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. “Our research found a substantial number of people fear that they may personally fall into that coverage gap.”

Key survey findings include:

•    By a ratio of 3 to 1, survey respondents want their state to accept the federal money and cover more people through Medicaid: 62% say their state should accept the federal dollars, while only 19% say their state should turn the money down; 17% are neutral, and 2% declined to answer.

•    Most survey respondents are concerned about the "coverage gap" that will occur if their state turns down the federal money and believe that avoiding this gap is a good reason for their state to accept it: When they learn that some people could be left uninsured if their state turns down the federal money:
   - 70% of survey respondents say avoiding the coverage gap is a good reason for their state to accept the federal money; 27% say it is not a good reason; 3% declined to answer.
   - More than one-quarter (27%) believe they are at personal risk of falling into this coverage gap.
 
•    The majority of survey respondents feel personally affected by their state’s decision: 55% say they have a close friend or family member who is uninsured

For more information, visit: http://www.nwlc.org/resource/strong-public-support-continues-states-accept-federal-funds-cover-more-uninsured-people-thr

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The National Women's Law Center is a non-profit organization that has been working since 1972 to advance and protect women's equality and opportunity. The Center focuses on major policy areas of importance to women and their families including economic security, education, employment and health, with special attention given to the concerns of low-income women. For more information on the Center, visit: www.nwlc.org.

The Center for Children & Families (CCF) of the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan policy & research center dedicated to expanding & improving health care coverage for America’s children and families. For more information, visit ccf.georgetown.edu