Employment means money and money means spending. If you cut Medicare, Medicaid, SSDI and other similar programs, the unemployment rate for PWDs (which is already horrible) will continue to rise. Also, without money to spend, the number of PWDs’ spending power will plummet, and the economy will suffer for it.
Full Answer
What happens if the US doesn’t expand Medicaid?
Finally, not expanding Medicaid doesn’t mean other states get the money. The expansion is an entitlement; if one state doesn’t expand, the money stays in the federal coffers (or reduces the amount Washington must borrow). 3. Medicaid’s access problems will get worse as more doctors drop out.
Why are so many doctors not accepting new Medicaid patients?
A study in Health Affairs found that in 2011, nearly one-third of physicians nationwide did not accept new Medicaid patients. [14] This is largely because the Medicaid program generally pays doctors and hospitals far less than private insurers.
How much do hospitals lose on Medicaid patients?
In Ohio in 2010, for example, hospitals lost $1.3 billion on Medicaid patients while spending $1.1 billion on charity care. [27] In Massachusetts, hospitals have not seen a drop in patients needing uncompensated and have successfully lobbied to continue receiving $200 million a year in supplemental payments from state taxpayers.
Did Rick Scott say ‘no plan to eliminate Medicare and Social Security’?
He added, “There is no ‘plan’ put forward by the Republican Party to eliminate Medicare and Social Security.” In the same “Fox News Sunday” interview featured in the DSCC ad and tweet, Scott went on to say that he had no intention of eliminating Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.
The Dangers of Cutting Medicare and Medicaid
As I wrote yesterday, the President’s deficit reduction plan includes a non-trivial swath of Medicare and Medicaid cuts, including some cuts for public health and prevention, as well as means testing and higher co-pays for certain services.
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How much will Medicare be cut?
In terms of Medicare, Senate Democrats estimate that the first cut would be in the range of $25 billion, starting in fiscal year 2018. Over the next decade, the cuts would total as much as $400 billion.
Why was Medicare and Medicaid created?
Medicare and Medicaid were created as part of “The Great Society,” an era when the role of government in helping the vulnerable was not debated — it was a responsibility. Let’s also remember that words matter. Medicare and Social Security are not “entitlement” programs.
Will the tax bill increase the deficit?
The gamble, simply put, is that the United States government can cut taxes and potentially increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion, but that economic growth resulting from the tax cuts would offset the deficit’s broadening. Many economists believe such an outcome is inconceivable — especially in the short term.
Why should we not expand Medicaid?
1. Medicaid harms the poor. The Medicaid program actually harms the people it is intended to serve.
What happens if one state doesn't expand Medicaid?
The expansion is an entitlement; if one state doesn’t expand, the money stays in the federal coffers (or reduces the amount Washington must borrow). 3. Medicaid’s access problems will get worse as more doctors drop out. Coverage is not the same thing as care.
How many people would be enrolled in Medicaid by the end of the decade?
If all states were to go along with the optional Medicaid expansion, nearly 90 million people would be enrolled in the program by the end of the decade, including those newly-eligible under the ObamaCare optional expansion.
Why is Medicaid a disincentive?
Medicaid imposes a huge disincentive on the poor to find work because they fall out of the program once they start earning better incomes. If states choose not to expand Medicaid, able-bodied adults who seek work and who successfully cross the poverty line should have the option of subsidized private insurance.
How much would it cost to expand Medicaid?
Expanding Medicaid would cost states an additional $118 billion through 2023, according to a recent congressional report. [8] . The additional spending surely would crowd out funds for education, transportation, parks, public safety, and other vital state needs.
When was Medicaid created?
Medicaid — the joint federal and state program designed to finance health care for the poor — has not been fundamentally changed since it was created in 1965 . Legislators know Medicaid desperately needs to be modernized for the 21 st century, and even President Obama argued the case during the debate over ObamaCare.
How many states will see an increase in Medicaid?
Even under current spending projections, 40 states will see an increase in their costs if they expand Medicaid. After the first three years of the 100% federal match, state costs will continue to climb, dwarfing any projected savings.
Why is Medicaid expansion bad?
12 Reasons Why Medicaid Expansion Is A Terrible Idea. More than four years after the president signed his signature health care initiative, the Affordable Care Act, into law, many states are still struggling to navigate it. A key issue still facing states is whether to expand Medicaid and increase the pool of residents eligible to join the program.
How much does Medicaid expansion reduce private coverage?
One of the architects of Obamacare, Jonathan Gruber (who also coauthored that Oregon Medicaid study), estimates that Medicaid expansions can reduce private coverage by 60 percent. A RAND study also found that of 60 percent of Medicaid expansion is just replacing coverage ...
What is the formula used to calculate the federal share of per state Medicaid funding?
The formula used to calculate the federal share of per state Medicaid funding is known as FMAP, or Federal Medical Assistance Percentage. Some states get a lot, and some states get very little. Quite often, a state’s FMAP is dependent upon whether that state has a particularly powerful lawmaker in Congress. Sen.
Why was Medicaid created?
Medicaid was created to give low-income families access to quality care —it was never meant to be a replacement for private coverage of people who can afford it. 7. Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is financed with $1 trillion in tax hikes and $700 billion in cuts to Medicare.
How is Obamacare paid for?
Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is paid for through a combination of tax increases and cuts to Medicare. The program doesn’t work like a typical discretionary program, where a fixed amount is appropriated regardless of program utilization. Medicaid’s cost increases are tied directly to enrollment.
Does Medicaid cover physical health?
This randomized, controlled study showed that Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured physical health outcomes in the first 2 years. 2. Medicaid promises people health coverage, but often denies them access to quality doctors.
Does Medicaid improve health?
1. Medicaid doesn’t actually improve health outcomes. According to an extensive, randomized study of people who enrolled in Oregon’s 2008 Medicaid lottery, Medicaid doesn’t improve the health outcomes of its patients, even after controlling for major health predictors like income and pre-existing health status.
Why are doctors leaving Medicare?
Doctors are leaving Medicare. More doctors are not accepting new Medicare patients , and some physicians are withdrawing from Medicare altogether. The reason: Medicare's complex system of administrative pricing is cutting physician reimbursement by 5.4 percent this year while forcing frustrated doctors to comply with an ever-growing body ...
What percentage of doctors refuse to take Medicare patients?
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, 17 percent of family doctors are refusing to take new Medicare patients. 5. Physicians are drowning in a rapidly growing morass of confusing red tape and bureaucratic paperwork created by Congress.
What is the BBA for Medicare?
Under the BBA, Congress created a new formula to increase Medicare payment for doctors. That annual payment increase is supposed to be equal to increases in the costs of goods and services used in providing medical services, but the costs for doctors practicing medicine have, of course, been rising.
Which federal agency runs Medicare?
Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), the powerful federal agency that runs the Medicare program, 8 define which benefits, medical services, and treatments or procedures seniors will (or will not) have available to them through the program.
What are the immediate reforms needed to meet the needs of the elderly?
In the meantime, Washington should pursue two immediate changes. First, Congress should eliminate Medicare's flawed update for payment for physicians' services.
Does Medicare cover doctors?
According to the New York Times report , Medicare reimbursement for doctors in many cases does not even cover the cost of providing care to Medicare patients. Remarkably, in spite of the sobering news that doctors are refusing to accept senior citizens enrolled in Medicare, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the powerful "seniors lobby," has voiced strong opposition to increased payments to doctors and other providers in Medicare unless Congress first agrees to provide a "meaningful" prescription drug benefit in the Medicare program--a benefit that, by the AARP's own definition, would cost no less than $750 billion over 10 years. 2 The high price of this AARP demand is far in excess of leading Administration and congressional proposals and would guarantee a sharp acceleration of the rapidly rising cost of the financially troubled Medicare program.
Is Medicare a written program?
The Medicare program should provide timely, binding written guidance to plans and providers. Plans and providers that rely on such guidance should not be subject to civil or criminal penalties or be required to refund related payments if that guidance is later found to be in error. 30.
