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March 20, 2010

Analysts Say Health Care Bill Would Strain States By Expanding Medicaid

No real surprise here. Fox News reports that health care analysts say the health care bill that is on the verge of passage is striking fear into hearts of several states that they will be left on the hook for the cost of expanding Medicaid:

Half of the 32 million Americans who would gain coverage under President Obama's sweeping health care reform would be pushed into Medicaid, the federal insurance program for the poor and disabled that is barely able to serve the nearly 60 million people already using it.

Under the bill, Democrats require the federal government to pick up the entire cost of new Medicaid patients through 2016. But then the states start to pick up more and more, first by 5 percent, then it rises year-by-year to 10 percent.

But the states are having a hard time now and many say even a small share of insuring 16 million more Medicaid patients down the road will be tough.

"Every member of Congress will be hearing from their governor, from every political person in their state saying we don't have the money," said Jospeh Antos, a health care scholar with the American Enterprise Institute.
He added that Medicaid isn't the ideal way to expand coverage.

"The point is not for everyone to get insurance, but for everyone to get good health care and Medicaid already has a problem in that regard," said Antos.

He told Fox News that pushing 16 million more into that system will stress it to the breaking point. That's because Medicaid reimburses so far below private insurance -- even below Medicare -- that Medicaid patients have trouble even finding a doctor.

"You can wait a very, very long time," Antos said. "People talk about the problem with waiting lines, and rationing and so on. It's happening right now in the Medicaid program."

With most states facing budget deficits the very last thing they need is this huge expansion of unfunded entitlements that is likely push them into insolvency. However, as we've previously noted, the Democrats in Congress and the no-nothing in the WH have no clue what the Republicans are talking about on health care, no clue what the American people are talking about, no clue why growing majorities of us oppose what they are trying to do, no clue what they themselves are doing on health care - and worst of all - Obamacare puts all of our lives and health at risk - along with putting the solvency of every state and the nation itself at risk.

Posted by Richard at March 20, 2010 7:46 PM

• Analysts Say Health Care Bill Would Strain States By Expanding Medicaid - Mar 20, 2010