ObamaCare's Medicaid auto-enrollment could cost Kansas $700,000

A relatively small provision within Obamacare could end up costing big bucks for the state government and Kansas taxpayers.

At issue is an innocuous clause within Section 2202 of the Affordable Care Act, which permits some hospitals to make on-the-spot judgment calls to enroll certain people in Medicaid without all the muss and fuss that go along with actually making sure they’re eligible.

They do get checked eventually, but if individuals are found ineligible for Medicaid they get booted off the plan — and the state gets stuck with the bill, according to Medicaid spokeswoman Emma Sandoe.

The concept itself is nothing new — it’s already in place at specific hospitals and clinics for children and pregnant women — but under Obamacare in Kansas it’s expanded to include low-income caretakers and parents. Eileen Hawley, spokesperson for Gov. Sam Brownback, said even with conservative estimates the provision could cost Kansas upwards of $700,000.

“The State of Kansas is developing a set of rules and regulations that will ensure participating hospitals must demonstrate a high degree of accuracy in making Medicaid eligibility determinations,” Hawley told Kansas Watchdog.

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