Kaiser report: Despite recession, most states expanded Medicaid eligibility

A new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that more than half of all states –- including Ohio -- eased eligibility for Medicaid last year, even in the face of serious budget shortfalls (Source: “Feds helped states sustain Medicaid,” Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 12, 2011).

The report, Medicaid and CHIP Coverage In An Era of Recession and Health Reform, concluded that the expansion of eligibility was because of, in large part, the billions of dollars in added federal aid to states that was contingent on them not dropping Medicaid enrollees.

The report came just days after Gov. John Kasich and 32 other Republican governors sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting that states be allowed to cut Medicaid eligibility standards without risking federal funds (Source: "Kasich going after Medicaid,” Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 8, 2011).