Opinion: Medicaid Expansion a Costly Part of Health Reform
In a Payers & Providers opinion piece, Texas physician Chris Rangel argues that a provision in the federal health reform law that will expand Medicaid coverage to individuals below 133% of the federal poverty level "is more likely to raise health care costs over the next decade" than the law's individual insurance mandate. He writes, "Contrary to popular belief, the uninsured do not flood emergency rooms because they can't get care elsewhere."Â He notes, "They are their own best managed care system by avoiding expensive health care except for serious conditions," which they may no longer be compelled to do after the Medicaid expansion.
- "The ACA's 'One Size Fits All' Problem" (Rangel, Payers & Providers, 5/17).