States are already
suffering because of ObamaCare’s prohibition against reducing Medicaid
eligibility. Thirty-three
Republican governors and governors-elect recently sent a letter
to the White House and Congress to have rules eased so they can better manage
their budgets. North Carolina needs this rule change to be able to save
$1,000,000,000 in Medicaid or it will have to take those billion dollars from
public schools, universities, public safety, transportation, and the rest of
state government. With more than 200 companies already recipients of exemptions
from ObamaCare rules, can the administration in Washington really take $6
billion dollars from the state and kick 1.5 million North Carolinians off
Medicaid instead of allowing the state to tighten eligibility for recipients
with higher income or wealth in an effort to save a fraction of that amount?
As for the claimed positive effects of the bill, the federal high-risk pool is
running above projected costs even as it fails to meet projections for
enrollment. North Carolina’s 700 enrollees are a fraction of the 8,000 the
plan’s executive
director forecast in June. It is also less than one-fifth of those who were
already enrolled in the existing state high-risk pool. The response is to cut
premiums below the market rate for a regularly insured person and to advertise
more.
The other so-called benefits have contributed to fewer
choices, lost
or changed coverage, higher premiums,
and more turmoil for many who were satisfied with their insurance before March
23. No $2,500 reduction for a family of four is in sight.
