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The Medicaid time bomb
NY Post ^ | 12/07/13 | Michael D. Tanner

Posted on 12/08/2013 5:07:21 AM PST by Libloather

The good news, if you want to call it that, is that roughly 1.6 million Americans have enrolled in ObamaCare so far.

The not-so-good news is that 1.46 million of them actually signed up for Medicaid. If that trend continues, it could bankrupt both federal and state governments.

Medicaid is already America’s third-largest government program, trailing only Social Security and Medicare, as a proportion of the federal budget. Almost 8 cents out of every dollar that the federal government spends goes to Medicaid. That’s more than $265 billion per year.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bomb; medicaid; obamacare; time
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To: redcatcherb412; Pearls Before Swine

Medicare patients pay a monthly premium, deductibles and 20% co-pays.
.
medicaid patients pay nothing
.
big differences
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The big difference left unmentioned is that MediCARE patients are those who have paid taxes for years that were supposed to be for the purpose of providing them with medical care after age 65 at which time they are enrolled in MediCARE whether they like it or not. Some of them also have MediCAID but most MediCAID patients have paid little or no taxes of any kind to the federal government.


41 posted on 12/08/2013 9:54:27 AM PST by RipSawyer (The TREE currently falling on you actually IS worse than a Bush.)
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To: Pearls Before Swine
'If all we did for illegal aliens was “stabilize” them, our costs wouldn’t be as high as they are now'

If everyone had no insurance we would be better off. Prices would come down for everyone.

As for illegals. The ER makes up the costs by overcharging everyone else.

42 posted on 12/08/2013 10:19:53 AM PST by Theoria (Obama lied. My health care died.)
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To: Mike Darancette

Yes, 138%, don’t know what I was thinking of. Thanks for correcting that.


43 posted on 12/08/2013 10:24:25 AM PST by randita
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To: Gaffer

You are correct; don’t believe the B.S.


44 posted on 12/08/2013 10:32:00 AM PST by steve86 (Some things aren't really true but you wouldn't be half surprised if they were.)
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To: randita

The 400% is the upper limit for subsidies on the exchanges.


45 posted on 12/08/2013 10:32:42 AM PST by steve86 (Some things aren't really true but you wouldn't be half surprised if they were.)
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To: Pearls Before Swine

If you are on medicare you do not pay it back with your assets, If you are on Medicaid you do pay it back with your assets. Medicaid is not insurance, it is welfare and it is paid back with assets.

Therefore all the people who signed up for Medicaid, ensured that they would give their assets over to the government if they need medical care. And that is how it will be paid.


46 posted on 12/08/2013 10:50:29 AM PST by Chickensoup (we didn't love freedom enough... Solzhenitsyn.)
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To: steve86
The 400% is the upper limit for subsidies on the exchanges.

And 250% is for special small deductible & copay Silver policies. I don't know how these work with the insurance companies as the premiums are the same and some policies are better than Platinum.

47 posted on 12/08/2013 11:18:44 AM PST by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
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To: Chickensoup

To be fair, the states generally find out about estate assets only through probate hearings; if no hearing then no recovery. Also, states in many cases simply do not pursue for many reasons (staffing, small size of estate, legal complications, etc). My state fairly aggressively goes after Medicaid Estate Recovery yet brings in only about 17 million a year — not really that much.


48 posted on 12/08/2013 11:32:03 AM PST by steve86 (Some things aren't really true but you wouldn't be half surprised if they were.)
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To: Mike Darancette

Yes, if those silver cost-sharing subsidies are ever actually implemented — real doubts here.


49 posted on 12/08/2013 11:34:41 AM PST by steve86 (Some things aren't really true but you wouldn't be half surprised if they were.)
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To: Chickensoup
Medicaid is not insurance, it is welfare

The subsidies on exchange policies are every bit as much welfare as Medicaid.

50 posted on 12/08/2013 11:39:41 AM PST by steve86 (Some things aren't really true but you wouldn't be half surprised if they were.)
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To: Theoria
The ER makes up the costs by overcharging everyone else.

Of course. And so do the insurance companies.

But, no one in government is outfront about the degree of cost shifting. People don't mind some sharing or charity, but they'd like to know what the tab is, and IMHO it's clearly way too high.

51 posted on 12/08/2013 3:33:19 PM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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To: redcatcherb412

My bad... what I meant was, “what’s the difference between someone who is signed up for MEDICAID...” (not Medicare).

So, your answer is correct with respec to my typo.


52 posted on 12/08/2013 3:35:14 PM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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To: Chickensoup

I meant to reply to you as well: I meant to type Medicaid instead of Medicare.


53 posted on 12/08/2013 3:37:31 PM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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To: steve86

To be fair, the states generally find out about estate assets only through probate hearings; if no hearing then no recovery. Also, states in many cases simply do not pursue for many reasons (staffing, small size of estate, legal complications, etc). My state fairly aggressively goes after Medicaid Estate Recovery yet brings in only about 17 million a year — not really that much.

_____________

Perhaps they are not aggressive in your state but they are in mine, and when the middle class is dropped into the welfare pool by shifting obamamcare pricing, well that is the asset chunk that the state is going to scoff up.


54 posted on 12/08/2013 8:45:00 PM PST by Chickensoup (we didn't love freedom enough... Solzhenitsyn.)
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To: steve86

The subsidies on exchange policies are every bit as much welfare as Medicaid.
_______________

Not arguing that. Isnt that the way to get single payer government controlled system in place?


55 posted on 12/08/2013 8:47:12 PM PST by Chickensoup (we didn't love freedom enough... Solzhenitsyn.)
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To: Pearls Before Swine

For an uninsured patient to get emergency medicaid they have to be hospitalized for 30 days. One can’t just sign up in the emergency room. We do have a couple of patients a year meet the 30 day requirement, but when the average length of stay in our hospital is around 3 days, its pretty rare.


56 posted on 12/08/2013 8:51:11 PM PST by Mom MD
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To: Mom MD
For an uninsured patient to get emergency medicaid they have to be hospitalized for 30 days. One can’t just sign up in the emergency room.

Thanks for that interesting info. However, the net effect, macroeconomically speaking, is going to be the same--if the person would be unable to pay, they won't. Whether Medicaid does it's poor job of reimbursing the hospital, or the hospital eats the cost and raises everyone else's price to cover, the economy at large is picking up the tab.

57 posted on 12/09/2013 7:09:37 AM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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