A July 12 article for The Federalist website is titled, “How Expanding Medicaid To Able-Bodied Adults Is Stripping Care For Disabled People.” Penned by Charlie Katebi, it informs us that “When a state expands Medicaid, the federal government covers 95 percent of the cost of treating every able-bodied patient. However, the federal government only covers 30 to 50 percent of the cost of treating Medicaid’s sicker patient populations.”
In large measure the federal government is a disgrace, and Medicaid ought to be abolished. This is true even if Katebi’s information is false, and I have no reason to hold that it is. Medicare, as I’ve written, insolvent by 2026? When will Medicaid be insolvent? “Not for a very long time,” a supporter might say. Oh? Well, I guess that’s true if only 30 to 50 percent of the care costs for the very sick are being covered. But perhaps it isn’t true.
Surely the provision of a Universal Basic Income (a phrase I dislike) would be better than this, as long as Medicaid was phased out slowly. And it would still be necessary to have government inspections of nursing homes and hospice centers. Anyone who says regarding today’s welfare programs, “It ain’t broke so don’t fix it,” doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He doesn’t mind insolvency being laid on waste and inefficiency.
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