MONTPELIER — A top Vermont health care official says the expansion of the Medicaid program as part of the federal Affordable Care Act will help reduce the number of uninsured Vermonters.

Vermont is set to receive several hundred million dollars for its expanded Medicaid program through the federal health care reform law that is in the process of being phased in.

Health Care Access Commissioner Mark Larson says there are about 47,000 uninsured Vermonters or about 7 percent of the state’s population.

Larson told Vermont Public Radio about half of Vermont’s uninsured are eligible for Medicaid.

Larson said he expects that some people currently enrolled in Medicaid will shift to private coverage.