Tonight, I’ll tell you about the cost of Medicaid expansion going through the roof, then some quick items on how Obamacare is for totalitarians and cronies.
Word came this week that the average cost of Medicaid expansion enrollees is about 50 percent higher than the genius masterminds thought. They didn’t anticipate that states would game the system. The states are paying higher rates per expansion enrollee than for the original Medicaid population. The states are misusing Medicaid to funnel federal money to insurers and hospitals. Remember, the states aren’t paying anything for Medicaid expansion through the end of the year. It’s all federal money.
As a result of the increased costs, CBO raised its projection of federal Medicaid spending by $146 billion over the next ten years. That’s a big jump from CBO’s previous estimate.
Meanwhile, we learned this week that Montana’s Medicaid expansion has exploded. As in so many other states, expansion enrollment is double original projections. Someone took a look at what Medicaid expansion would mean in Georgia, if Georgia passes it, and found the same potential for costs to explode. Many more people would be eligible in Georgia than the government thinks.
A member of my Truth Squad came up with a pretty good argument about all of this: Medicaid expansion? You just want to run up the national debt. You’re trying to spend a bunch of money we don’t have.
Now on to totalitarians and cronies. HHS has changed its rules and is helping for-profit companies sell health data from Obamacare, Medicare, and other government programs to commercial customers. You could be forgiven for asking ‘where’s my cut’ when these companies sell your data. It turns out that one of the companies that will benefit from the new rule is United Healthcare. The person who pushed the rule change through HHS is the ethically challenged Andy Slavitt, head of CMS. Andy Slavitt came to the government from – you guessed it – United Healthcare. And you thought Obamacare was about healthcare. Silly you. Follow the money.
Now two reminders why Obamacare is something only a totalitarian could love. HHS is expected to promulgate a rule auto-REenrolling people who try to leave the Obamacare exchanges. Obamacare is about to become Hotel California – you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. In Louisiana, where the new Governor expanded Medicaid with a phone and a pen, some people are finding themselves in another kind of Hotel California where they never even checked in. They have Obamacare exchange plans, but qualify for expanded Medicaid. They’re being slammed into the Medicaid program even though they would prefer to keep their exchange plan. They no longer have any say in the matter. Like I said, Obamacare is something only a totalitarian could love.
Links
HHS: ave cost of Medicaid expansion enrollees nearly 50% higher than projected, not lower as expected
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2016/07/20/government-report-finds-that-obamacare-medicaid-enrollees-much-more-expensive-than-expected/#26652fd82dd0
CBO increased its projection of fed Medicaid spending by $146B over 10 yrs, big jump over previous estimate
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2016/07/20/government-report-finds-that-obamacare-medicaid-enrollees-much-more-expensive-than-expected/#26652fd82dd0
Montana Medicaid expansion explodes; double initial projections
http://khn.org/news/montana-medicaid-expansion-by-the-numbers/
A Georgia Medicaid expansion could explode past projections; study finds many more eligible than gov’t says
http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2016-07-12/mccutchen-medicaid-expansion-worst-option-improving-georgia-healthcare
Medicaid expansion? You just want to run up the national debt. You’re trying to spend a bunch of money we don’t have.
CMS rule update facilitates for-profit companies making money off of gov’t health data. #WheresMyCut
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160701/NEWS/160709998/cms-updates-rule-allowing-claims-data-to-be-sold
#CronyAlert – data-selling rule from CMS, run by United Healthcare crony Andy Slavitt, benefits UnitedHealthcare
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160701/NEWS/160709998/cms-updates-rule-allowing-claims-data-to-be-sold
HHS moves toward auto-reenrollment of people who exit exchanges. #HotelCalifornia – you can never leave
http://watchdog.org/269276/walker-obamacare-cms/
Louisiana: some exchange enrollees to be slammed into Medicaid, crowding out private insurance. #ToldYouSo
http://theadvocate.com/news/16234641-123/uncertainty-surrounds-whether-newly-medicaid-eligible-people-in-louisiana-can-keep-their-obamacare-p
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