A health economist warns that the House healthcare bill constitutes such a large expansion of welfare spending that a majority of healthcare in this country will eventually be purchased through government programs.
A report from the chief actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows that spending on the Medicaid welfare program under the House healthcare bill would surpass Medicare spending, and grow nearly twice as fast as spending in employer-sponsored insurance. By 2019, one in five healthcare dollars will be spent through Medicaid, says that report. More than half of all health spending would flow through Medicare, Medicaid, or other public spending in 2019. Robert Book, senior research fellow in health economics at The Heritage Foundation, notes the eligibility for Medicaid under the House bill will be greatly expanded to include everybody up until one-and-a-half times the poverty level. "Right now, Medicaid is targeted at children...parents with children, especially young children, and pregnant women," he explains. "It's not available to single, childless adults regardless of income -- and now that's going to be expanded." Because Medicaid is a joint federal-state program, Book points the ramifications of the federal government's decisions regarding the program. "So if the federal government expands eligibility, that means not only is the federal government going to be spending more money, but the states are going to have to spend more because of the matching-fund aspect of the program," he states. Book says the number of people eligible for subsidized health insurance under the House program will include everyone up to four times the federal poverty level income -- meaning that a family of four making up to $88,000 annually could qualify for government insurance.
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