Posted on 11/16/2014 12:23:17 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s decision to expand Medicaid eligibility has put the state on an unsustainable path when the federal government ratchets down its share of the bill beginning in 2017, Republican gubernatorial candidates James Comer and Hal Heiner say.
Beshear’s executive order, made possible through the Affordable Care Act, has added more than 425,000 recipients to Kentucky’s Medicaid rolls, and Washington, D.C., has paid 100 percent of the costs for the newly eligible. Beshear based his decision in part on the projected $15.6 billion economic impact once the program is fully implemented in fiscal year 2021.
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“When Gov. Beshear greatly expanded the Medicaid program in the state, the federal government subsidized if for the first three years,” Comer said Friday before addressing the Kentucky Hospital Association’s conference. “Well lucky for him that subsidy runs out right after he leaves office, so the next governor is going to have to pay that extra 5 to 10 percent that the federal government was picking up the tab on.”
He pointed to a Courier-Journal report Friday that said the state’s rural hospitals are struggling under the Affordable Care Act and noted Clinton County Hospital filed for bankruptcy last week.
“We have a problem on our hands with access to health care, especially in rural areas, and then here in Louisville we have a huge problem between the two major hospitals here,” he said. “So the next governor’s going to have his hands full with respect to health care.”
(Excerpt) Read more at mycn2.com ...
Boy, I'm telling you, this Obamacare is making things so much better for medical facilities.../sarc
This is a disaster - these rural areas were already lacking for healthcare facilities and now the bottom is really falling out.
It wasn’t “my” headline.
The entire policy was basically the same policy as dope dealers have when selling “below cost” to new customers.
The federal government pays 90% of the cost after 2018.
Which is just after Obama leaves office.
That too, is by design.
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