How many million people is the Affordable Care Act expected to add to the Medicaid Program?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to expand Medicaid eligibility significantly, allowing many more individuals to gain access to health insurance. The estimate of adding 16 million people to the Medicaid program is based on projections and studies that evaluated the ACA's impact on insurance coverage. This expansion primarily targets low-income individuals, including adults without dependent children, who were previously ineligible for Medicaid in many states.

The number of 16 million reflects both the expected enrollment due to expanded eligibility and the initial surge in applications following the implementation of the ACA provisions. Various studies and reports from organizations like the Congressional Budget Office and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have supported this figure, indicating that when states voluntarily expanded their Medicaid programs under the ACA, a significant number of uninsured individuals were expected to gain coverage.

This figure has become a benchmark in discussions around the ACA and its impact on healthcare access in the United States, reinforcing the law's importance in reducing the uninsured rate among low-income populations.