Colorado will expand Medicaid, claims cost savings are in progress, according to Gov. Hickenlooper

Jan 7 2013

The state plans to expand its Medicaid program as much as the federal health law envisions, without spending any extra money to make it happen.

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Colorado Will Expand Medicaid, Governor Announces
Gov. John Hickenlooper said Colorado will expand its Medicaid program as much as the federal health care law calls for, and he said the state won't have to spend any extra money to make it happen. The federal health overhaul law requires states to significantly expand the health care program for the poor, but when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the Affordable Care Act last June, it said states couldn't be forced to take the new Medicaid money, essentially making that expansion optional (Whitney, 1/3).

Denver Post: Colorado Plans Medicaid Expansion, Claims Cost Savings In Process
Colorado plans to expand Medicaid coverage next year to cover more than 160,000 additional low-income adults, aided by cost-control savings of more than $280 million over the next 10 years, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced Thursday. "This is a step toward what we have talked about for a couple of years: How can we make sure we're making Colorado the single healthiest state in America?" Hickenlooper said. Through 2016, the federal government covers the entire cost of the expansion, which comes under provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The governor said he anticipates that even when federal funding for the expansion is reduced, "not one dollar of general-fund money will be used to replace it" (Simpson, 1/3).