Growth in Medicaid enrollment, significant this year and last, should slacken in 2016, according a new Kaiser Family Foundation report.
That growth – 8.3 percent in 2014 and 13.8 percent in 2015 – should fall to approximately four percent next year. The upswing is the result of Medicaid expansion authorized by the Affordable Care Act and most of the growth was in states that expanded their Medicaid programs, although in 2015 every state experienced an increase in Medicaid enrollment.
Growth in Medicaid spending, too, is expected to decline, from 14.3 percent in 2014 and 13.9 percent in 2015 to a projected 6.9 percent in 2016.
To learn more about how, where, and why Medicaid enrollment and spending continue to grow, see this CQ HealthBeat report presented by the Commonwealth Fund.