States cut Medicaid as millions of jobless workers look to safety net

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

States facing sudden drops in tax revenue amid the pandemic are announcing deep cuts to their Medicaid programs just as millions of newly jobless Americans are surging onto the rolls.

And state officials are worried that they’ll have to slash benefits for patients and payments to health providers in the safety net insurance program for the poor unless they get more federal aid.

State Medicaid programs in the last economic crisis cut everything from dental services to podiatry care — and reduced payments to hospitals and doctors in order to balance out spending on other needs like roads, schools and prisons. Medicaid officials warn the gutting could be far worse this time, because program enrollment has swelled in recent years largely due to Obamacare’s expansion.

The looming crisis facing Medicaid programs “is going to be the ’09 recession on steroids,” said Matt Salo, the head of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “It’s going to hit hard, and it’s going to hit fast.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/states-cut-medicaid-as-millions-of-jobless-workers-look-to-safety-net/ar-BB13Ehxi?li=BBnbcA1

Sick people without healthcare. What could go wrong?

[crickets]

1. K&R for visibility.

eta

In Georgia, where Medicaid enrollment is projected to rise by as much as 567,000, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and legislative leaders have instructed every state agency to prepare for 14 percent reductions across the board. [snip]

“Now, we’re looking at greater declines than what we saw during the Great Recession and increased spending,” Sigritz said. “If there aren’t more federal funds, states will have to look at cutting funding for key services: public safety, education, health care. That’s where the money is.”

[Celerity]

2. tip of the iceberg, shit is not even close to fully manifesting yet

Good rule of thumb to assume:

It will be far worse than many (most?) think, and the Rethugs will use the paradigm shifts to try and destroy the social safety net, crush the Blue states, kill off as many of the poor and PoC as they can, plus skim trillions from the middle class and slide it up to the pyramidion of systemic control.

[progree]

3. Media: It's all "Obummer's" fault again (here we go again)

because program enrollment has swelled in recent years largely due to Obamacare’s expansion.

The federal government pays 90% of the cost of the Medicaid Expansion (after initially paying 100%)

The states pay the remaining 10%. And I'm sure that 10% outlay is cheaper for the states than having millions uninsured going from emergency room to emergency room rather than having their conditions treated for real (emergency rooms are fine at stabilizing people and giving them recommendations to doctors and specialists that they can't afford to see, and a fistful of prescriptions they can't afford to fill).


Medicaid Expansion Continues to Benefit State Budgets, Contrary to Critics’ Claims, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 9, 2018
https://www.cbpp.org/health/medicaid-expansion-continues-to-benefit-state-budgets-contrary-to-critics-claims