DENVER — State officials say the number of Coloradans covered by Medicaid rose by 9,000 last month, about triple the normal increase.
The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing said Friday nearly 458,000 people were on Medicaid as of April 30.
Medicaid is public health insurance for low-income families, children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities. It is funded jointly by the federal and state governments.
John Bartholomew, chief financial officer for the health care policy department, says the increase is due to the recession and efforts by the department to increase the number of Coloradans who are covered.
Bartholomew says the growth rate should slow one unemployment begins to decline.
