Ohio's decision to expand Medicaid has led to a decline in the number of uninsured, added jobs and improved access to cholesterol screenings, mammograms and other preventive care, a new report says.

Ohio�s decision to expand Medicaid has led to a decline in the number of uninsured, added jobs and improved access to cholesterol screenings, mammograms and other preventive care, a new report says.

The benefits for states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act were laid out in a report released today by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, six months after Medicaid expansion took effect.

The report estimates that more than 4.3 million people will gain health coverage by 2016 in the 26 states where Medicaid was expanded.

In the 24 states that have not expanded Medicaid, an estimated 5.7 million will go without health coverage.

In a boost to local economies and state budgets, those states expanding Medicaid will bring in $84 billion in federal aid by 2017 and thousands of new jobs, while those forgoing expansion will miss out on about $88 billion.

�Today�s report is yet another reminder that access to affordable health care makes a real difference to families, hospitals and state economies across the country,� President Barack Obama said in a statement.

�I applaud the governors and state legislatures of both parties who have done the right thing and expanded Medicaid in their states, and I urge the governors and state legislatures who have not yet expanded Medicaid to put their constituents� health over partisan politics and give millions more Americans the access to affordable health care they deserve.�

At Gov. John Kasich�s urging, the state Controlling Board voted last fall to accept federal funds to expand Medicaid � the tax-funded health-care program for the poor and disabled � to Ohioans earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level. For an individual, that�s an annual income of just under $16,000.

Since Jan. 1, when the expansion took effect, 243,230 newly eligible applicants have been approved for coverage, state Medicaid officials say.

Ohio�s Medicaid program now covers 2.6 million Ohioans.

According to the report, Ohio stands to gain these benefits from Medicaid expansion:

� 446,000 Ohioans will gain coverage by 2016.

� 65,000 more residents will receive a cholesterol screening while 17,400 more will get mammograms.

� Out-of-pocket health-care costs will be reduced, and an estimated 63,400 fewer Ohioans won�t have to borrow money to pay medical bills or can skip paying them entirely.

� 54,000 jobs will be created between 2014 and 2016.

The federal government is paying 100 percent of expansion costs for the first three years and 90 percent or more after that, making it attractive even to governors such as Kasich who oppose the health-care law.

Ohio is expected to receive nearly $13 billion in federal aid for Medicaid between 2014 and 2016.

�Expanding Medicaid is one of the most-obvious steps� a state could take to improve access to health care and the local economy, said Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

ccandisky@dispatch.com

@ccandisky