Medicaid Expansion Undermines Health Care Reform

Dennis Smith / June 15, 2009

Sec. 142 Building on the Success of the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program so All Americans Have Affordable Health Benefit Choices

(b) Sense of the Senate.—It is the sense of the Senate of that Congress should establish a means for all Americans to enjoy affordable choices in health benefit plans, in the same manner that Members of Congress have such choices through the Federal employees health benefits program.

– Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the “Affordable Health Choices Act”

Should Congress actually follow this guidance from the HELP Committee throughout health care reform legislation, it is likely such legislation would receive overwhelming bipartisan support and thus be an enduring legacy. Unfortunately, as more details emerge from Congress, it is obvious that the policies being forwarded do not match the goal. Specifically, the expansion of Medicaid and how Medicaid will interact with the new Gateway, new premium credits, and other parts of the HELP legislation will undermine authentic reform. Rather than gaining access to the model enjoyed by members of Congress, tens of millions of Americans and the trillions of dollars spent to support them will be caught in the Medicaid trap. (more…)