Local News Update
Thesis
Effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansions on individual state budgets
- National health care costs continue to rise
- States continue to face financial difficulty
- State Health care policy implementation consideration
Data Utilized
Data utilized: assess the effects of expansion during first four years of
Implementation
State Budget Officers’ State Expenditure Report for the 2014-2018 years
Difference-in-Differences model
To assess the effects of the expansion during the first four years of implementation.
Findings:
Medicaid expansion
16.6 percent increase in state Medicaid spending for expansion states
8.9 percent increase in non-expansion states in the first year of implementation Significant reductions in other categories of state spending
Reduction in state budget spending for education
Particularly higher education
6 percent decrease in spending.
Implications:
State and federal policy makers should consider future of ACA:
Heavy state reliance on federal funding of Medicaid
Original state budget concerns valid
Decrease in federal funding of Medicaid will put other categories at risk