Obama’s Medicaid expansion will bankrupt states

[Geee]

Washington Times:

As a practicing doctor serving in Congress, I am glad Mitt Romney and President Obama are debating Medicaid. For 20 years, I have taught and treated patients in a safety-net hospital. For 20 years, I have seen well-meaning politicians harm patient care. I see this now with Mr. Obama’s expansion of Medicaid.

 

 

Medicaid is bankrupting states and contributing to the federal debt and is associated with poor-quality care. As a doctor, I know firsthand that poor care is a particular concern. Mr. Romney’s plan to allow states to redesign their Medicaid programs with a set contribution from the federal government could set us on the right path to solving our health care problems. Mr. Obama is wrong to attack Mr. Romney for this plan.

 

Medicaid, which is financed by state and federal budgets, is draining both. On average, states pay 45 percent of costs and the federal government 55 percent. There is no limit on what the federal government pays as long as the state is willing to spend more. Some states don’t spend more but rather use financing schemes to draw down federal dollars without actually contributing state dollars. This is part of the reason Medicaid is driving up the federal debt, and it is dishonest.