Premium assistance—the use of Medicaid funds to purchase private market plans—is one way that states may expand coverage to previously ineligible, low-income adults. Arkansas and Iowa have been using premium assistance to purchase plans on the exchange through Section 1115 research and demonstration waivers since January 2014, and other states have expressed interest in this approach.
While it will be several years before the data are available that can provide a full assessment of premium assistance, raising questions now can help guide future analysis and evaluation, including whether its use should be broadened in Medicaid and CHIP.
From: March 2015 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP