DeSantis Is Right About Medicaid

North Carolina becomes the 40th state to join the expansion, which harms taxpayers and existing beneficiaries alike.

By Brian Blase. Excerpts:

"Expansion leads to a surge in spending but reduces healthcare access for traditional Medicaid enrollees such as low-income children and people with disabilities. And it doesn’t improve health."

"If Florida expands Medicaid, some 2.5 million people would newly enroll in the program. Three in 10 Floridians would be on Medicaid, and there would be only 1.5 workers for every Medicaid enrollee. Among people who join Medicaid, 65% would replace private coverage."

"The cost of expansion to Florida’s state taxpayers would reach $2 billion by the end of the decade."

"Expanding Medicaid also leads to much higher federal deficits. Florida’s decision to reject ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion has already saved American taxpayers nearly $50 billion.

After ObamaCare’s Medicaid spending surge, federal officials found that more than 20% of payments nationwide were improper—mainly payments to health insurers for ineligible recipients."

"In the first four years of Medicaid expansion, mortality trends were worse in expansion states."

"After expansion, Medicaid enrollees were one-third less likely to secure doctor appointments, driving more people into emergency rooms. A Mercatus Center study found that Medicaid spending stagnated for children and people with disabilities and significantly increased for able-bodied working-age adults in expansion states."

"If Florida decides to expand and the enhanced match rate ends, the state’s extra costs will exceed $40 billion over the next decade, according to my estimates. North Carolina’s decision to expand creates fiscal risk for the state exceeding $10 billion over the next decade."