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In its latest effort to get more states to states to expand their Medicaid programs, health officials are emphasizing its role in paying for treatment of opioid abuse and mental health issues. Federal health officials are still pressing to get more states to agree to extend Medicaid eligibility to all low-income residents under the Obama health law, in the wake of a 2012 Supreme Court decision that effectively gave governors and state legislators a choice over whether to do so. To date, 30 states have opted in; 20 are sitting out. (Radnofsky, 3/28)

Expanding the state’s Medicaid program could bring tens of thousands of low-income Georgia into treatment for mental health and substance use problems, federal officials said Monday. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report said 159,000 uninsured Georgians with mental illness or a substance use disorder had incomes that would qualify them for expanded Medicaid coverage in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act. (Miller, 3/28)

Federal health regulators made another pitch Monday about the benefits of expanding Medicaid coverage in North Carolina and 18 other states, this time focusing on behavioral health issues. Legislators have debated for more than three years about whether to expand Medicaid coverage to an additional 500,000 North Carolinians. ... “Medicaid expansion under the ACA can greatly improve the quality of life for state residents by improving access to treatment for behavioral health needs,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officials said in a 17-page report. “Among this population, there is great need for treatment, as about 30 percent (144,000) have either a mental illness, substance use disorder or both.” (Craver, 3/28)

About 406,000 Texans with mental illness and substance abuse disorders could have health insurance if the state expanded Medicaid, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Monday. Texas is one of 20 states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage, opting out of many provisions of the Affordable Care Act. (Chang, 3/28)

Expanding Medicaid could allow more than 300,000 Floridians to gain access to treatment for mental illness and substance abuse, according to a new federal government report. Some 726,000 people living in Florida have a mental illness or substance abuse disorder but don’t have health insurance, according to the report, released Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. States are allowed to expand Medicaid health coverage to households that earn 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $16,284 for an individual or $33,534 for a family of four. (Auslen, 3/28)

An estimated 114,000 low-income uninsured residents in Tennessee would get access to care for mental illness and substance use disorder if the state accepted a federal offer of Medicaid expansion dollars, federal officials reported today. In Mississippi, 61,000 uninsured residents would gain coverage for behavioral health and drug and alcohol disorder services if that state accepted the Affordable Care Act’s offer of expanded Medicaid. (McKenzie, 3/28)

Louisiana residents who need mental health treatment are likely to see improved health care outcomes after Medicaid eligibility is expanded on July 1, according to a policy brief released Monday (March 28) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ... In Louisiana, as many as 81,000 people who need mental illness or substance abuse treatment will likely qualify for Medicaid expansion, according to the brief. The full number of people without insurance who need mental illness or substance treatment in Louisiana is about 176,000. (Litten, 3/28)

Of the non-expansion states, Idaho and Utah have the highest level of uninsured, low-income residents with mental illness or substance-abuse disorders — 39 and 40 percent, respectively. Substance-use disorders, from opiate addiction to alcoholism, currently disqualify a person from Medicare, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Disability and Medicaid coverage. (Matthews, 3/28)