Medicaid… What’s it all Mean for a Paycheck?
Who really cares about Medicaid unless they’re on it, right?
Well, 25% of all Federal spending (aka your tax dollars) goes to healthcare. So that means you, yes you, should probably know more about it.
The Biden Administration is looking to expand the program, which will likely change how we tax paychecks and how your state government spends that money.
Here’s the five things you need to know about Medicaid and what you can do:
- 🤔🤷Medicaid is not the same as Medicare - Medicaid is for people who can’t afford health insurance. Medicare is for people aged 65+ or have an illness that makes them unable to work.
- 🤕👶There are A LOT of people on Medicaid - Between hard times and an expansion of the program, 12.4 million new folks have enrolled in Medicaid since February 2020, which means 25% of the US population is now getting insurance through the program. About half of all kids in our country are on Medicaid.
- What About All the Fraud? - Independent auditors have found that nearly 5% (over $32 billion) of Medicaid payments are sent to people who are dead, unqualified, or committing fraud. Officials are constantly coming up with less than perfect solutions to solve the problem, but it’s clear that the vast majority of those on Medicaid really do need this program to fall back on.
- 😬🧾Medicaid Pay Keeps Some Doctors Away - Medicaid pays 30-50% less for many doctor visits. As many as 30% of doctors refuse to see folks on Medicaid because it's just not worth it. So while it’s a great fall back, few people would prefer to be on Medicaid if they could afford otherwise.
- 🏥📈What do Regular-Sized Paychecks Think About Medicaid? - It really is a mixed bag. If Medicaid is expanded (which the Biden Admin wants to do) it will cost more to taxpayers. But… it could also create about 1 million more healthcare jobs nationwide since the program leads to more folks actually getting to the doctor.
🔥Bottom line: The good news is, Washington is responsible for the majority of the funding (64%) but your STATE handles the operations. 🚨Which means that your vote in the state and local elections will truly impact the program🚨
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