Study: CO Medicaid expansion could cost $470M

By The Associated Press
Thursday, July 5, 2012

DENVER — Colorado Republicans warn that the hundreds of millions of dollars that it would cost to expand Medicaid will test the limits of the state budget.

Expanding Medicaid coverage is one of the key provisions of the federal health care law that the Supreme Court upheld. But the ruling also gives states wiggle room to reject the expansion. Colorado Republicans have expressed concern about whether the state can afford the expansion.

The Denver Post reports Thursday that Kaiser Family Foundation study shows Colorado would spend $470 million for its share of the Medicaid expansion between 2014 and 2019. The study says the federal government’s share of the expansion for Colorado would be $6.9 billion during that time, or 94 percent.

Some Colorado health officials say the estimates for state spending may be too high.