Communications

The States should love this. Expand Medicaid coverage, it’s “cheaper.”

According to CQ Politics “House Democrats Consider Medicaid Twist”

“The irony is, what CBO is telling us is if you expand the number of people getting Medicaid, you reduce the cost of the bill,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.

CQ piece continues:

State governors and legislators also are likely to bristle at the approach; Medicaid is a joint state-federal program, and with the economic recession, states are already being forced to cut their budgets deeply in other areas to maintain their Medicaid obligations.

Republican and Democratic governors alike have panned the idea of expanding the unfunded Medicaid burden.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a member of the National Governors Association’s health-care task force, was less than enthusiastic, "I can't think of a worse time for this bill to be coming. I'd love to see it happen. But nobody's going to put their state into bankruptcy or their education system in the tank for it."