WHY DO HOSPITALS WANT TO EXPAND MEDICAID? (HINT: IT’S NOT BECAUSE THEY’RE JUST NICE PEOPLE)
Hospitals in South Carolina, both individually and under the auspices of the South Carolina Hospital Association, are pushing hard for an expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act popularly known as “Obamacare.”
Just how expensive would this expansion be, and who would pay? For the first three years starting in 2014, the federal government will cover 100 percent of the cost for states’ Medicaid expansion, while dwindling down that percentage to 90 percent within the decade, leaving states accountable for 10 percent of the cost. Through 2022, the expansion will increase states’ spending by 2.8 percent compared to what they would be spending without it. The expansion would increase federal Medicaid spending by $931 billion and state Medicaid spending by $73 billion.
A majority in the South Carolina House seem to be opposed to the expansion on the grounds that South Carolina taxpayers simply can’t afford it. But the hospitals stand to profit hugely by an expansion, and their lobbyists are working House members (so we hear from reliable sources) around the clock.
So badly do they want the expansion that they would be willing to pay an increased provider tax on themselves if that would persuade reluctant lawmakers to override a gubernatorial veto of it. If paying an increased provider tax “would, essentially, be the health-care industry taxing itself,” wouldn’t that be reason enough for state lawmakers to go along with the expansion?
If so, their reasoning is shortsighted. The first lesson to remember in economics is that all actors are self-interested. South Carolina hospitals don’t favor a Medicaid expansion out of altruistic motives; they want it because it means more revenue. Hospitals wouldn’t be advocating for this tax if it meant they’d be taking a loss, and they’ll be able to pass some (if not most) of the tax on to patients in any case.
Moreover, it’s doubtful any provider tax increase that could be agreed upon in reality would be large enough to cover the $1.5 billion in increased state spending an expansion would require over the next ten years. Medicaid expansion may be in the interest of South Carolina hospitals in the short run, but it’s not in the interest of our state in the long run.
And remember: We all pay federal taxes. So ultimately we’re paying for the $931 million in additional federal spending, too.
The federal government designed the Accountable Care Act where hospital payment from Medicare & Medicaid goes down as Medicaid insurance coverage increases. Then the supreme court later decided states can opt out of Medicaid expansion and left hospitals with a huge payment cut while states like South Carolina have decided not expanding coverage. This is wrong. Even more wrong is that South Carolina is 46th in health status and the state is blocking 280,000+ poor people from gaining insurance that provides immunizations, preventive care, and pharmacy benefits, etc. to prevent/treat chronic illness.
How come some say we can’t afford Medicaid Expansion while other states can? This is a $9 federal match for every $1 from the state. How come the state did not conduct a economic impact study of Medicaid Expansion?
SC Policy Council is being parsimonious with the truth. But you could only expect that from the SC Policy Council