Are rental vouchers a form of “health care?” Federal bureaucrats evidently think so. They’ve recently approved waivers for states to fund these benefits through Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program that covers over 76 million Americans.
These waivers constitute an enormous federal subsidy to state governments, with up to nine dollars of U.S. taxpayer funding contributed for every dollar states spend. The math is so lopsided that it’s easy to understand why states are seeking waivers to fund everything from rent vouchers and air conditioners for poor people to supplemental pay for doctors.
These waivers demonstrate a core flaw of Medicaid. States have a perverse incentive to increase their own spending on anything remotely related to health care. The more they spend, the more federal aid they receive.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Medicaid’s Waivers Are Out of Control – But Also Show How to Save the Program
Sally C. Pipes
Are rental vouchers a form of “health care?” Federal bureaucrats evidently think so. They’ve recently approved waivers for states to fund these benefits through Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program that covers over 76 million Americans.
These waivers constitute an enormous federal subsidy to state governments, with up to nine dollars of U.S. taxpayer funding contributed for every dollar states spend. The math is so lopsided that it’s easy to understand why states are seeking waivers to fund everything from rent vouchers and air conditioners for poor people to supplemental pay for doctors.
These waivers demonstrate a core flaw of Medicaid. States have a perverse incentive to increase their own spending on anything remotely related to health care. The more they spend, the more federal aid they receive.
Click to read the full article in Townhall.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.