Posted on 07/20/2015 6:22:59 PM PDT by WonkyTonky
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California has enrolled 2.3 million people under an optional expansion of the state's Medicaid program - nearly three times more than the state had anticipated, according to the state Department of Finance.
Beyond that, a record number of people who already qualified for the low-income health program signed up, pushing overall enrollment in the state's Medicaid program known as Medi-Cal past 12 million to roughly 1 in 3 Californians.
Medi-Cal's rapid growth is now putting financial pressure on a state that was quick to embrace President Barack Obama's health care initiative. Five years ago, the program accounted for 14 percent of California's general fund. Today, Medi-Cal consumes 16 percent.
In that time, the overall cost of the program has jumped to $115.4 billion from $91.5 billion, although much of the extra funding is supplied by the federal government.
California officials say the decision to expand has injected billions of federal dollars into the state's economy, and they say the state is prepared to handle the additional costs through long-term budgeting and better coordination with other social programs.
"California has been at the national forefront of implementing the Affordable Care Act and will continue to be," said Gov. Jerry Brown's finance spokesman, H.D. Palmer.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
I’ll bet lots of illegal aliens now have Obamacare.
Of course millions are signing up in CA. This is the core purpose of Obama’s policies on illegal immigration, after all.
What I’m thinking. With this administration it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they bused in illegal aliens and paid them one benjamin apiece to enroll in the plan so they could hype their numbers.
Expanding Medicaid is nothing to celebrate or be proud of.
The headline is hilarious. They make it sound like it’s a good thing. “Hurrah, more people are on welfare and it costs more than we ever imagined.” Only in government is failure a good thing.
They say it like it’s a good thing...
“and they say the state is prepared to handle the additional costs through long-term budgeting and better coordination with other social programs.”
Translation: through cooking the books.
Embrace the Left and die, you fools.
Can you say.....imploding?
How about zero?
"Give me your sick, your PREGNANT, your huddled masses"?
“Medicaid for all!” Isn’t that what the left really wants?
Welfare for all! Whoopee!
“the state is prepared to handle the additional costs through long-term budgeting and better coordination with other social programs.”
...because the state have a “lien” on any assets you may acquire - forever and ever
shhsh don’t tell anyone!
The scary part is the Mexican people, in general, are very high users of health care. They go to the doctor often and aren’t satisfied if they don’t get a shot before they leave.
Note, I said “in general.”
Further note, I really like most all the Mexican-South American people I know. They are hard workers, love their families and dogs, and are generally good citizens. My comment above is not to disparage. It’s just a fact.
The precise reason it is nothing to be proud of is that at least 50 cents of every Medicaid dollar spent is federal money. So if California goes hog wild and extended Medi-CAL to every breathing humanoid in the state, they have largely robbed the rest of the country to do so.
I agree and according to the article, “California officials say the decision to expand has injected billions of federal dollars into the state’s economy”, that federal money is going to the medical profession. No wonder they wanted Obamacare.
The ones you know are obviously different from the the wetbacks I have had to deal with.
24 billion here, 24 billion there; pretty soon it adds up to real money.
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