Tag: Not Top Priority

Some 65 percent of active Michigan voters believe Michigan should not expand Medicaid under Obamacare because taxpayers cannot rely on the federal government to pay its share of the increased costs that would come with adding new recipients, according to a survey conducted by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Liberty Foundation of America.

Several legislators and the White House are pushing to expand Medicaid in Michigan with the promise that the federal government will pay 100 percent of the additional cost for new enrollees for three years, then decrease that through 2020 until the state budget becomes responsible for paying 10 percent of the cost.

And I have a bridge to sell you.  .. Or maybe our governor does?

Another 61 percent of respondents said it was a "convincing argument" not to expand Medicaid because it would "allow too many able-bodied young people to get insurance, even if they just chose not to work to provide for their own health care needs."

"Hardly a week goes by without new reports from Washington of Obamacare implementation glitches, delays and unanswered questions, indicating the law is still highly vulnerable," Senior Legislative Analyst Jack McHugh told Michigan Capitol Confidential. "In addition, there's abundant evidence that optional Medicaid expansion will impose much higher future costs on Michigan taxpayers than proponents acknowledge."

McHugh has written about this issue extensively, pointing out the budget trap that could befall Michigan taxpayers and the problems the state could face if it makes the wrong decision.

"The public senses these things and has logically concluded that the expansion simply doesn't make sense for Michigan at this time," McHugh added.