Study: Privatized Medicaid expansion could improve stability

The model would provide stability for families who would otherwise alternate between being eligible for Medicaid and subsidies in the exchanges, the study said.

Authors Sara Rosenbaum and Benjamin Sommers said the Arkansas model could cut “churn” between Medicaid and the exchanges by as much as two-thirds in some states.

{mosads}”Given the politics surrounding the Medicaid expansion, using Medicaid to buy private insurance will continue to generate great interest,” the authors wrote. 

“Ultimately, the most important aspect of premium assistance may be its appeal to conservative politicians who are skeptical of the ACA generally and the Medicaid expansion in particular — even if the policy differences between an expansion featuring robust Medicaid managed-care and private insurance coverage are less dramatic than they might first appear.”