Recession Triggers Rise in Medicaid Applications

As unemployment rises and the country's recession continues, many states are seeing increases in Medicaid applications as tax revenues are falling below projections, according to The Associated Press.

State governors have asked President-elect Barack Obama and Congress to increase the government's share of Medicaid spending to help alleviate the financial strain; currently, the government covers about 57 percent of Medicaid spending while the states cover the remaining 43 percent, the AP reports.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation report "Short Term Options for Medicaid in a Recession," estimates show that a "one percentage point increase in the national unemployment rate translates to a one million person increase in Medicaid and (State Children's Health Insurance Program) enrollment as individuals lose jobs and job-based health insurance."

The national unemployment rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 percent in November and was up 2 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly regional and state employment unemployment report.

Read the Associated Press report on rising Medicaid applications.

Read the Kaiser Family Foundation report "Short Term Options for Medicaid in a Recession." (pdf)

View the Bureau of Labor Statistics November employment and unemployment report.