ObamaCare Launch Leads 6.3 million to Become Eligible for Medicaid

ObamaCare Launch Leads 6.3 million to Become Eligible for Medicaid (Reuters)

More than 6.3 million Americans were deemed eligible for government healthcare plans for the poor since the Oct. 1 launch of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law through December, federal officials reported. The swelling rolls for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reflect both an expansion of Medicaid under Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) and what healthcare policy analysts call an “out-of-the-woodwork effect,” in which people who heard about Obamacare sought to obtain health insurance and discovered that they had qualified for Medicaid even before the law expanded eligibility. It is unclear how increased Medicaid enrollment may affect investors of publicly traded healthcare companies but the situation is worth monitoring.

Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.