Medicaid benefit designs for newly eligible adults: state approaches

The Affordable Care Act gives states the option of providing less-generous Medicaid coverage to adults who become eligible through the law's expansion of the program. Based on a review of the benefit design choices made by states that had expanded Medicaid by the end of 2014, we find that states have chosen to offer more generous coverage than what is required under federal law, either narrowing or eliminating the distinction between coverage levels for newly eligible adults and those for traditional adult beneficiaries, such as pregnant women, parents and guardians, or beneficiaries with disabilities. This suggests that states view the newly eligible beneficiaries as having the elevated health and health care needs that are common among low-income populations.