The End of Medicaid as We Know It

Dennis Smith / July 16, 2009

The gripping health care reform drama unfolding on Capitol Hill has a surprising ending—Medicaid dies. At least Medicaid as you have come to know it. The gasping audience, however, will be left to figure out whether it was murder or an accident.

The 1,018 page House Health Care bill being rushed through Congress authorizes putting 11-15 million more people into Medicaid. The Congressional leaders are doing this with the full knowledge that state budgets cannot even handle their share of the current obligations of the program. Congress is also taking away big chunks of state flexibility to run the giant welfare program. State officials, no doubt, will be happy to learn this.

As a result of the recent reauthorization of the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) during the first weeks of the Obama Administration, SCHIP is being turned into Medicaid. While the House leaders are pushing their $1.3 trillion extravaganza through (more…)