States continue to sign up for the Medicaid expansion, but those that are embroiled in legislative fights over the expansion fear even a one-year delay could mean they'll lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to cover low-income residents, according to an article in Politico.
Expansion remains a question mark in about a dozen states after months of legislative wrangling, Politico reported. Some undecided states, such as Pennsylvania, believe they won't be able to expand Medicaid before January 2015, and question whether they will have access to federal funds at that time.
Part of the problem stems from the fact that Medicaid officials haven't given states a deadline for signing up for the expansion--so states don't know how soon time will run out. But some industry experts don't think it will be difficult to implement the expansion so long as states have done their homework ahead of time, Politico notes. In those instances, experts say states could opt in to the full year of federal funding even after January 1.
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