BALTIMORE (AP) - A recent report has found that Maryland's decision to expand its Medicaid program could save the state more than $2 billion.
The Daily Record reports that an assessment of the economic impact of the expansion of eligibility to another 146,000 people starting in January found that Maryland could see a net savings of more than $2 billion from 2014 to 2020.
The report prepared by George Washington University and Regional Economic Models predicts direct savings to Medicaid, new state revenue and reduced spending on other health care programs.
The state and federal government split the cost of insuring Medicaid enrollees, but the federal government covers the whole cost of covering newly eligible enrollees from 2014 to 2016. The federal coverage gradually declines to 90 percent in 2020 and beyond.
