Study: Health care reform a good deal for California, other states

Study: Health care reform a good deal for California, other states
MercuryNews.com
By Mike Zapler
05/26/2010

WASHINGTON — A new report estimates that the national heath care reform law will allow California and other states to significantly pare the ranks of the uninsured at a relatively small cost, as the federal government picks up the lion's share of additional costs of expanding coverage.

In a joint study released Wednesday, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Urban Institute examined the cost to states of expanding Medicaid, one of the main vehicles in the reform law to cover the uninsured. The law will expand the federal health care program for the poor (known as Medi-Cal in California), to those earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line, or $14,400 for an individual. Medi-Cal rules vary, but generally it covers families who make up to 106 percent of the poverty level...