Key Highlights
- To receive Medicaid health coverage, some adults will soon have to show they are working, volunteering or taking classes.
- But to gather that proof, many states first will have to spend millions of dollars improving their computer systems. Across the nation, states face an immense task and high costs to prepare for the Jan.
- 1 kickoff of new Medicaid eligibility mandates affecting millions of lower-income adults in the government-funded health care program. The first half of a $200 million federal allotment has already begun flowing to states to help implement the new requirements.
- But the tab for the needed technology improvements and additional staff is likely to exceed $1 billion, according to an Associated Press analysis of budget projections in more than 25 states.
- That extra cost will be borne by a mixture of federal and state tax dollars. The task is not as simple as pushing through a software update on your smartphone or personal computer.
