ObamaCare's Medicaid Expansion Is Blowing Up

[Geee]

Investors Business Daily:

Welfare: During the debates on ObamaCare, Medicaid got little attention. That was a mistake, since enrollment and the cost of treating all those jumping onto the program is surging beyond expectations.

 

At first, ObamaCare tried to force states to expand eligibility for Medicaid by including childless adults and people with incomes 38% above the poverty line. In 2012, the Supreme Court blocked this attempt, making expansion optional for states.

 

Two dozen states immediately took the bait, lured by the promise the federal government would pay 100% of costs in the first three years and 90% for the newly eligible on into the future. Several more have joined since.

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An analysis by the Associated Press finds that this was short-sighted folly. At least 14 of these states have seen enrollment surge unexpectedly, forcing at least half to increase their cost estimates. And we're not talking about a few percentage points.

 

• In Kentucky, more than twice as many signed up for Medicaid than the state had projected. That's forced Kentucky to more than double its projected Medicaid costs for 2017.