Cooper, Democrats Doubling Down on Medicaid Expansion Push

CHARLOTTE – Medicaid Expansion is on the lips of nearly every Democrat in the Old North State. It was previewed as one of their top priorities going into the new legislature and 2020 election cycle, and Democrats, led by Cooper, are laying the compassion ploy on as thick as possible to sell Medicaid Expansion.

Cooper was in Charlotte Tuesday making the public appeal to add 500,000 people to the government dole.

From WFAE:

“Cooper spoke at an event in Charlotte honoring a faith-based public health program that helped reduce rates of obesity and smoking in Mecklenburg County. House Democrats have already introduced a bill that would essentially shift the cost of expansion through a tax on hospitals.

“Their bottom line will be increased significantly even when they pay the state portion,” said Cooper. “This is a big boost for medical providers across the state, including our hospitals.”

[…]

“We have to make sure that we have everything on the table to negotiate,” Cooper said. “I will tell you most of the people we are talking about are working. They are just making a little too much to qualify for this health insurance they need and often can’t afford to pay for premiums for other health insurance.””

You may not be a fan of hospitals – understandable considering the eye-popping bills one receives for even the briefest of visits – but what effect do you think a special tax on hospitals will have on the price of healthcare for everyone that doesn’t get a government entitlement program?

Medicaid is a prime example of a Big Government program ostensibly designed for the most destitute among us that has since ballooned into a behemoth that is bleeding taxpayers dry. Cooper and Democrats want to add half a million people to it because premiums on the private market are too high.

But why are premiums so high? Could it be that government is far too involved in funding healthcare as it is, and the entitlement programs force providers to raise prices elsewhere in order to make up for the negative margins they get from programs like Medicaid?

If Cooper and Democrats were really interested in lowering the costs of healthcare, and expanding access, they would do more to actually move those in the right direction. Repealing Certificate of Need laws would be a good start, along with reforming coverage mandates for insurance providers.

However, as Democrats push the expansion issue with a heavy flavoring of compassion politics, even Republicans are starting to cave to the rhetoric. For instance, House Speaker Tim Moore says he would favor an expansion that includes work requirements, and Republican Rep. Greg Murphy wants to start a whole new government program that amounts to Medicaid-lite.

The problem (or maybe the feature from the Left’s perspective) is that healthcare premiums are “too expensive” for most individuals and families. Even a breadwinner earning 200 percent of the poverty level, with a family of four, that purchases private health insurance likely winces every time they pay that bill. Why isn’t their need warrant a claim on government healthcare?

See, because it’s subjective, the goal posts can always be moved. Thus, Democrats can move them again and again until government healthcare for all is on the table.

Hopefully Republicans remember their principles and resist the political temptation to expand government healthcare once again.