Governor Hickenlooper announced this week his administration’s plans to expand Medicaid as part of federal healthcare reform.  This is a big win for rural Coloradans who typically earn lower wages than their urban counterparts and disproportionately experience unemployment. CRHC’s most recent policy survey shows members overwhelmingly support the expansion as a means to increase access to care for rural Coloradans, so this is exciting news for CRHC members and partners. 

The new eligibility standards will enable the state to cover an additional 160,000 adults. The federal government will cover 100% of the costs for the newly-eligible Medicaid population through 2016. After that, the federal match begins to taper down, and Colorado will be responsible for 10% beginning in 2020 (unless the law is changed).

The Governor’s press release can be found here.  Gov. Hickenlooper released a fact sheet and an FAQ with his announcement.  Click on the embedded links to read those documents.