Since Medicaid is now “talk of the town,” especially in the midst of the Senate and House budget negotiations, let’s discuss one of the beloved claims Medicaid expansion proponents make: “If our state doesn’t accept the federal money, then that money is going to go to another state that opted for expansion.”

This is not true.  Just read Christina Corieri’s Wall Street Journal Op-ed that rebuts this invalid argument.

Here are the facts:

  • The CBO estimated that Washington was expected to spend around $950 billion to expand Medicaid nationwide between 2014 and 2022.  Since a number of states have rejected expansion, the CBO has now revised its estimate to $636 billion.
  • There is no designated “Medicaid expansion fund” that Congress can draw from.
  • If a state chooses to expand Medicaid, then the Treasury Department borrows money to supply the state with federal funding.
  • This means that those states are increasing the federal deficit.
  • North Carolina has rejected Medicaid expansion. (Pause for applause).  Therefore, our state has reduced the strain on the federal deficit.
  • This does not mean that our taxpayer money will fund other states who have opted for Medicaid expansion.
  • Because the treasury is borrowing money to fund Medicaid expansion, this will increase taxes on future generations.