Fed gov to cover 100% of new Medicaid enrollees under ACA

(HealthDay)—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the federal government will pay 100 percent of the costs of certain newly eligible adult Medicaid beneficiaries under the Affordable Care Act.

The final rule provides information to states that expand Medicaid by describing the method states will use to claim the available matching rate. The federal funds are available for Medicaid expenditures for newly eligible individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

HHS says that for the newly enrolled eligible adults the federal government will pay for 100 percent of the costs during the years 2014, 2015, and 2016. The federal government's contribution is then gradually phased-down to 90 percent by 2020, at which rate it will permanently remain. The rule also provides information about the availability of an increased federal medical assistance percentages for certain adults not newly eligible, but covered in states that expanded coverage prior to the Affordable Care Act.

"Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, more Americans will have access to health coverage and the federal government will cover a vast majority of the cost," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement.