Already burdened by a seemingly intractable unfunded mandate in Medicaid, Genesee County isn't being burdened much by the Affordable Healthcare Act, according to County Manager Jay Gsell.
Even the provisions treating the county as an employer, which have been in effect for two years, Gsell said, have had negligible impact on the budget.
While the act, often referred to as Obamacare, is increasing the size of the pool of local residents who have health care coverage under Medicaid, Gsell said if the state follows through on seeking funding from the federal government, county taxpayers won't be shouldering that burden.
The act requires states to offer Medicaid to people with annual incomes of 133 percent of the poverty rate or less, Gsell said, and NYS already offers Medicaid at 150 percent of the poverty rate.
Also, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already instituted insurance exchanges.
With those two criteria being met, the state should receive funding from Washington to cover increases in Medicaid coverage, if the state applies for it.
The state will cover the increases in administrative costs, Gsell said, for new Medicaid recipients.
Gsell said the new group of people who will be covered by Medicaid have traditionally just gone without medical coverage, meaning they get no preventative care and seek only emergency care that the hospital can only write off as "charity care."
Now these people can establish a relationship with a doctor or clinic, get check ups and physicals and better monitor their health concerns.
"From a community standpoint, I think that's better health care," Gsell said.
