Alabama’s decision not to expand Medicaid vindicated by shocking new Obamacare report

MONTGOMERY, Ala — Medicaid expansions under the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, are costing states that opted in much more than they bargained for according to an actuarial report released by the Department of Heath and Human Services (DHHS) directly contradicting projections made by the Obama Administration sold the plan to lawmakers.

The ACA, whose stated goal was to boost the number of those insured in order to lower premiums, also increased eligibility for Medicaid, a means-tested federal insurance entitlement, to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Line. The original law included a cost-sharing program between the states and the Federal Government to cover the expansion, but the US Supreme Court ruled that the plan was coercive and that states could opt-out.

According to current DHHS numbers, the new ACA Medicaid enrollees cost about $1000 more than existing enrollees when the President predicted that they would cost $50 less.

The report reads:

In 2014, the average benefit costs of newly eligible adult enrollees are expected to have been substantially greater than those for non-newly eligible adult enrollees in the program. Newly eligible adults are estimated to have had average benefit costs of $5,517 in 2014, 19 percent greater than non-newly eligible adults’ average benefit costs of $4,650. These estimates are significantly different from those in previous reports, in which average benefit costs for newly eligible adults in 2014 were estimated to be 1 percent lower than those of non-newly eligible adults.

Alabama, led by by Governor Bentley (R-AL), originally rejected Medicaid expansion, but some have speculated that there could be a change of attitude within the administration. Bentley signed an executive order in April creating the Alabama Healthcare Improvement Task Force to “address ways to improve the health” of Alabamians. A cursory look at the 38 men and women appointed to the task force shows it to be stacked with advocates for Medicaid expansion.

Similar to Pennsylvania and Arkansas, which is also led by a Republican governor, Governor Bentley has said he’d like to be able to funnel federal tax dollars through the state government and into private insurers. They would then use those taxpayer dollars to cover uninsured individuals up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, the same ultimate outcome as Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare. The difference is that by receiving a “waiver” from the Obama administration, Republican governors have been able to participate in ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion while selling to their conservative constituents as something completely different. In Pennsylvania they call it the “Healthy PA” plan. In Arkansas it’s commonly referred to as the “private option.”

The Alabama Senate reaffirmed their opposition to Medicaid expansion in an explicitly-written resolution this April.

“The state should pursue reforms based on reducing Medicaid dependence, rather than increasing dependence,” the resolution states. “Expansion of Medicaid would further strain the state General Fund, where Medicaid is already the largest line-item… We express our intention that the State of Alabama not expand Medicaid above its current eligibility levels.”