Georgia’s budget can’t take Obamacare

[Geee]

Washington Times:

Obamacare was sold as a collection of rich promises and benefits — a neatly wrapped gift with a bow on top. Twenty-nine months after Democrats rammed Obamacare through Congress, every state is learning the hard lesson that the federal government’s version of Christmas morning comes with a big price tag. The proposed Medicaid expansion alone threatens to completely reshape state budgets, crowding out investment in core state functions such as schools, public safety and transportation.

Here in Georgia — a million miles from Washington’s printing press — we are constitutionally bound to balance the budget. This common-sense constraint means Georgia cannot afford Obamacare. Unless Congress moves to give states more flexibility — such as through a block-grant program — it’s likely Georgia will opt out of the expanded Medicaid program.

To entice states to come onboard with the Medicaid expansion, the federal government is using an old trick: The first one’s free. But soon thereafter, the state’s on the hook for ballooning costs.

As such, states face an impossible choice. The federal government promises to pay the full cost of the new enrollees for Medicaid for three years. The free ride sounds good, but after that, we’re told, states will pick up a share of the expanded population, ratcheting up to 10 percent by 2020.

Realists must express some incredulity about whether our bankrupt federal government is actually going to cough up the money. Washington’s new costs in Georgia alone will amount to $40 billion over 10 years. Even if it does live up to its end of the bargain, there’s no money in state treasuries to cover our part of the bill. Put another way: If they’re buying lunch, we cannot afford even to pick up the tip — the bill is simply too large.