Medicaid
Commentary
Medicaid’s Waivers Are Out of Control – But Also Show How to Save the Program
Are rental vouchers a form of “health care?” Federal bureaucrats evidently think so. They’ve recently approved waivers for states to fund these benefits through Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program that covers over 76 million Americans. These waivers constitute an enormous federal subsidy to state governments, with up to ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 17, 2024
Commentary
Read the latest on out-of-control Medicaid spending
Medicaid is for health care, not housing
Now, however, Medicaid is funding a slew of additional benefits — from meal deliveries to rent — on the pretext that they “influence health status” for the better. And next on that list of benefits could be affordable housing. Health insurers are investing billions in the construction of new apartments ...
Sally C. Pipes
July 3, 2024
Commentary
Read the latest on Medicaid reform
Limit Medicaid enrollment to alleviate wait times
The Biden administration is trying to help people on Medicaid see the doctor faster. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just finalized a regulation establishing a maximum wait of 15 business days for a Medicaid beneficiary to get a primary care appointment. Decreeing that wait times must be shorter ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 17, 2024
Commentary
Medicaid’s Mission Creep Is Hurting the Poor and Disabled
What do air conditioners, mini fridges, and air purifiers have in common? According to Medicaid authorities in Oregon, they’re all forms of health care. Across the country, state Medicaid programs are suffering from a serious case of mission creep. Officials are trying to use Medicaid dollars to pay for everything ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 1, 2024
Commentary
Read the latest about Medicaid overreach
States use Medicaid as credit card without limit
Medicaid was created in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” to provide health coverage to low-income and disabled Americans. The incremental expansion of the program is bleeding taxpayers and straining its ability to fulfill its historical purpose. Its scope needs to be scaled back. Read the full ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 3, 2024
Commentary
Medicaid shouldn’t pay for housing
Massachusetts is asking the Biden administration for permission to use money from Medicaid, the health program for low-income and disabled Americans jointly funded by the states and the federal government, to pay for temporary housing for homeless families and pregnant women, including newly arrived immigrants. It’s only the latest request by states to spend money specifically earmarked ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 11, 2024
Commentary
Loss of Medicaid isn’t a crisis. It’s a chance to make coverage better, cheaper
More than 16 million Americans have lost Medicaid coverage in recent months, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Two million Texans have rolled off Medicaid, newly released state data show. That’s good news, despite what the Biden administration would have us believe. For decades, Medicaid has burdened taxpayers ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 15, 2024
Commentary
Read how the demand for long-term healthcare will grow
Medicaid should not be for middle class
America is aging. Between now and 2050, the number of people older than 64 will increase by more than half, to 86 million. Nineteen million of those seniors will be older than 84. That means demand for long-term care will grow. Residential care with nursing coverage can cost more than $100,000 ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 16, 2024
Commentary
Dear Governors: Just Say ‘No’ To Medicaid Expansion
Once upon a time, Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion seemed like a blue-state fantasy. But that’s hardly the case anymore. Today, 40 states and the District of Columbia have taken advantage of the Affordable Care Act’s move to open the program to able-bodied Americans with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level. Even ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 8, 2024
Commentary
Medicaid spending is on the rise — progressive policies are to blame
Medicaid expenditures totaled more than $805 billion in 2022, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s a 9.6% increase compared with 2021. The data are the latest indication of just how big Medicaid has become. And that’s no accident. For years, progressives have advanced policies that have nudged millions more ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 26, 2023
Medicaid’s Waivers Are Out of Control – But Also Show How to Save the Program
Are rental vouchers a form of “health care?” Federal bureaucrats evidently think so. They’ve recently approved waivers for states to fund these benefits through Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program that covers over 76 million Americans. These waivers constitute an enormous federal subsidy to state governments, with up to ...
Read the latest on out-of-control Medicaid spending
Medicaid is for health care, not housing
Now, however, Medicaid is funding a slew of additional benefits — from meal deliveries to rent — on the pretext that they “influence health status” for the better. And next on that list of benefits could be affordable housing. Health insurers are investing billions in the construction of new apartments ...
Read the latest on Medicaid reform
Limit Medicaid enrollment to alleviate wait times
The Biden administration is trying to help people on Medicaid see the doctor faster. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just finalized a regulation establishing a maximum wait of 15 business days for a Medicaid beneficiary to get a primary care appointment. Decreeing that wait times must be shorter ...
Medicaid’s Mission Creep Is Hurting the Poor and Disabled
What do air conditioners, mini fridges, and air purifiers have in common? According to Medicaid authorities in Oregon, they’re all forms of health care. Across the country, state Medicaid programs are suffering from a serious case of mission creep. Officials are trying to use Medicaid dollars to pay for everything ...
Read the latest about Medicaid overreach
States use Medicaid as credit card without limit
Medicaid was created in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” to provide health coverage to low-income and disabled Americans. The incremental expansion of the program is bleeding taxpayers and straining its ability to fulfill its historical purpose. Its scope needs to be scaled back. Read the full ...
Medicaid shouldn’t pay for housing
Massachusetts is asking the Biden administration for permission to use money from Medicaid, the health program for low-income and disabled Americans jointly funded by the states and the federal government, to pay for temporary housing for homeless families and pregnant women, including newly arrived immigrants. It’s only the latest request by states to spend money specifically earmarked ...
Loss of Medicaid isn’t a crisis. It’s a chance to make coverage better, cheaper
More than 16 million Americans have lost Medicaid coverage in recent months, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Two million Texans have rolled off Medicaid, newly released state data show. That’s good news, despite what the Biden administration would have us believe. For decades, Medicaid has burdened taxpayers ...
Read how the demand for long-term healthcare will grow
Medicaid should not be for middle class
America is aging. Between now and 2050, the number of people older than 64 will increase by more than half, to 86 million. Nineteen million of those seniors will be older than 84. That means demand for long-term care will grow. Residential care with nursing coverage can cost more than $100,000 ...
Dear Governors: Just Say ‘No’ To Medicaid Expansion
Once upon a time, Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion seemed like a blue-state fantasy. But that’s hardly the case anymore. Today, 40 states and the District of Columbia have taken advantage of the Affordable Care Act’s move to open the program to able-bodied Americans with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level. Even ...
Medicaid spending is on the rise — progressive policies are to blame
Medicaid expenditures totaled more than $805 billion in 2022, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s a 9.6% increase compared with 2021. The data are the latest indication of just how big Medicaid has become. And that’s no accident. For years, progressives have advanced policies that have nudged millions more ...