The Deception of Scale in Obamacare

I would like to draw your attention to a passage from this article concerning states' unpreparedness for expanding Medicaid.

"California has enrolled nearly 2.3 million people so far — almost three times more than the 800,257 the state had anticipated. Enrollment in neighboring Washington more than doubled. Oregon's new enrollments have exceeded estimates by 73 percent.
In Michigan, estimated costs have shot up by 50 percent because of soaring enrollment. Ohio's projected costs more than doubled."

Why, when the Federal government assured us that only 10 percent of the cost would be shouldered by the states, are we seeing this massive collapse of their budgets?

The answer is scale. A puny 10% to the Federal government constitutes an astronomical number on the scale of a state government. This is what opponents have been saying for years. Only now, once the cushy federal money rug is being pulled out, are Governors and legislatures starting to realize the magnitude of their mistake.

Medicaid uses roughly 40% of all new revenue, and has increased by 1600% in the last 30 years. That number would be scary, even completely disregarding expansion.

This year the Republican-controlled General Assembly responsibly budgeted a pay increase for teachers, state employees, and relevant contractors. They identified funding for two new Veterans' care centers, and restored the education budget from shortfall-related cuts by $42 million.

If they had expanded Obamacare to Virginia, those things would not have been possible.

VA GOP Caucus

vagopcaucus.blogspot.com

Strongest Ally Backs Off

Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Barry DuVal released a letter two days ago, urging the Governor and Democrats to pass the biennial budget without continuing the hostage scenario that they have started over Medicaid expansion.

The letter flatly states that the straight-up Medicaid expansion (Marketplace Virginia is now off the table) does not have the Chamber's support, and that the program is in need of serious reform before any expansion takes place. In other words, it's what Republicans have been shouting from the mountaintops.

Without the Chamber's support, the Governor's public backing for this full-steam-ahead approach to Obamacare expansion is getting less and less popular by the day. Already more than 50 localities representing over 3.8 million people, and numerous organizations have asked Governor McAuliffe to de-couple Medicaid expansion and pass a clean budget. How long until he (and Democrats) listen to the people?

VA GOP Caucus

vagopcaucus.blogspot.com