Medicaid Expansion Costs

MIT and Harvard should be proud. Two of their most beloved health care economists, Jon Gruber and Benny Sommers, just wrote an earth shattering article detailing the impact of Medicaid expansion and spending at the state level.

Using data from the National Association of State Budget Officers they found that from 2010-2015 the impact on state funding for Medicaid expansion had no impact on state budgets. Further, they were also able to show that funding for other areas such as education and transportation didn't suffer from any funding reductions.

According to Gruber this research provides evidence that “Expansion is basically free.”  He then went on to say “The main lesson is there’s no sort of big hidden cost of expanding Medicaid. What you see is what you get. You get free health insurance for your citizens.”

Of course they did Jon. Because for states who chose to participate in Medicaid expansion the federal government is funding 100% of the costs from 2014-2016.