A new policy brief by the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at the Milken Institute School of Public Health presents an analysis of the potential far-reaching consequences of approved §1115 Medicaid work experiment programs on community health centers and the patients they serve in seven states. Building on estimates of coverage losses among Medicaid beneficiaries subject to work experiments, the new brief presents estimates of the potential impact of Medicaid work experiments on beneficiaries who are patients of health centers, and ultimately, the implications for health centers and the wider communities they serve. It offers first-time estimates of the impact of Medicaid work experiments on community health center patients, revenue, and staffing in Arizona, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, as well as updated estimates for Arkansas; it also includes estimates reported earlier for both Kentucky and New Hampshire.
Authors estimate that 120,000 to 169,000 adult Medicaid health center patients in these states are at risk of losing coverage. As a result of declining Medicaid coverage, health centers would experience a deep reduction in Medicaid revenue, ranging from 1 percent of total revenue to 10 percent, or an estimated $89 million to $125 million in patient care revenue across all seven states. They would be forced to reduce staff by 815 to 1,145 full-time staff members, and would serve fewer patients. Overall, it is expected that 104,000 to 147,000 health center patients in these states could lose access to care.
Just as the expansion of health insurance led to overall community and system-wide economic benefits, coverage losses can lead to system-wide reductions in services and access that adversely impact care for all. The widespread adoption of Medicaid work requirements would thus have substantial and long-term spillover effects, dramatically increasing the number of people who are uninsured and substantially reducing health center revenue and threatening access to care across entire communities.
To access the policy brief, click here.
Contact: Feygele Jacobs
Phone: 212.246.1122
Email: fjacobs@rchnfoundation.org