Obamacare greatly expanded Medicaid eligibility. As a result, about 20 million able-bodied, working-age adults who were previously ineligible are now enrolled in the program.
But as a new report from the Paragon Health Institute makes clear, their gains have come at the expense of the pregnant women, children, and people with disabilities that Medicaid was established for.
The harm to these legacy beneficiaries, and to taxpayers, will only mount unless Congress fixes the perverse incentives that Obamacare created for the nation’s flagship health program for the poor.
Obamacare directed states to expand Medicaid eligibility to able-bodied adults earning up to 138% of the federal poverty line. Forty states and the District of Columbia have complied.
Previously, eligibility had been restricted to vulnerable people — like nursing home residents with virtually no assets, or minor children, or pregnant women who lacked other health coverage. […]
— Read More: issuesinsights.com
