Remember when we were promised a decade ago that Medicaid expansion would lower premiums?

Medicaid expansion proponents, in an effort to win voters who would not qualify for the program even in its expanded form, claimed that it actually benefited all income groups because it would cut down on wasteful ER usage.

10+ years later, the stats show:

1) Medicaid recipients are still using the ER for common ailments
2) ER usage actually increased because patients don’t get billed.
3) hospitals are making up for crappy Medicaid payment rates by shifting burden to commercial plans aka increased premiums for folks with employer or private insurance


Louisiana democrats were some of the biggest proponents of this idea.

Health economists were always skeptical of the claim that Medicaid expansion would reduce ER usage. The politically incorrect answer is that in black, hispanic, and white trash areas, the ER has culturally been the place you go when sick.

In reality, Medicaid expansion was always going to benefit the folks who newly qualified, and nobody else. But it’s a lot harder to win elections by appealing to the charity of those who don’t benefit, than it is to lie to voters and claim your bill will benefit everyone.


They are pulling the same stunt with “universal daycare”, claiming it will benefit everyone by increasing female workforce participation rates and therefore benefitting whole economy and all of us.