Background: States can expand Medicaid eligibility as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but not all states have elected to do so, and a few remain undecided.
Methods: Using 2009-2013 data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs), this report compares estimates of uninsured individuals with a behavioral health disorder who lived in Medicaid expansion, non-Medicaid expansion, and undecided states.
Results: Of all uninsured Medicaid expansion-eligible individuals with a behavioral health disorder, 49.2 percent (or 2.6 million) lived in states that either decided not to expand Medicaid coverage or were undecided. The remaining 50.8 percent (or 2.7 million) of the eligible individuals lived in states that decided to participate in the Medicaid expansion provision of the ACA.
Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of behavioral health conditions among the uninsured, the decision by some states not to participate in the Medicaid expansion suggests that a significant portion of individuals with a behavioral health disorder will remain uninsured.
Read more at: http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_2073/ShortReport-2073.pdf
Source: The Substance Abuse Mental Services Administration – November 18, 2015