CMS: ACA Medicaid Expansion "Truly Voluntary"

A CMS official has explained that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act will be "truly voluntary."

According to Cindy Mann, director of CMS' Center for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program, states can sign up to expand Medicaid as early as January 2014 or at any point after that and they can exit the program if they are unhappy with it. The Affordable Care Act calls for states to extend eligibility to people with incomes of up to 133 percent above the federal poverty level.

Mann also said that while there is no Medicaid implementation deadline, states would miss out on federal funds the longer they choose to wait.

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