Becoming the Medicaid State
Yesterday, I noted that enrollment in health insurance plans through the state-government-operated HealthSource RI had dipped by August 2. In contrast, Medicaid enrollments have continued to grow, by an average of 3,430 per month, or a five percent growth of the total Medicaid rolls from the end of March to the end of August, now up to 257,884. That’s now more than one-quarter of the entire state population.
If we assume that all new Medicaid enrollments were through the exchange, it’s an increase of 21% since March.
Here’s a not-so-fun fact: The number of new Medicaid enrollments in Rhode Island from March to August was more than five times greater than the number of seasonally adjusted new jobs based in Rhode Island. If you want a barometer of the direction in which the state is headed, that’s a pretty good one.