Enzi: Medicaid Expansion Costs Unsustainable

U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.said the federal government has a long long record of not paying bills it has agreed to cover. He said the offer of “free” federal funds to cover the costs of state Medicaid expansions won’t be any different.

Enzi joined efforts recently to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), or Medicaid FMAP, to prevent the federal government from unfairly committing taxpayer money to incentivize the expansion of state Medicaid programs. Enzi said Under this bill, introduced by Senators Tom Coburn and Richard Burr, states would be allowed to expand their Medicaid program, but would do so without the commitment of enhanced federal tax dollars.

Enzi said if states want to expand their Medicaid program, they should be allowed to. But they should not expect the federal government to pick up the whole tab when it can’t even pay all the bills it has now. Enzi said the unsustainable and costly guarantee of 90-100 percent federal funds for the expansions will likely be shifted to the states as the federal government begins looking for ways to cut spending and addressing its $17 trillion national debt.