Reasons to Reform Medicaid

Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have produced ten. Here are my top four:

Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have produced ten. Here are my top four:

1. In the State of Oregon, as many as one out of five individuals enrolled in Medicaid aren’t even eligible for the program.(Source: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius letter to Senator John Cornyn. February 25, 2010.)
2. You can own a half a million dollar luxury home and still qualify for Medicaid. (Source: The Social Security Act: Section 1917(f).)
3. An entire consulting industry now teaches how to do financial planning around Medicaid’s long-term care offerings, and not surprisingly, taxpayers now finance 40 percent of long-term care services in America through Medicaid. (Sources: The Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Medicaid Planning Quotes and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: Medicaid and Long-Term Care Services and Supports. March 2011)
4. Individuals with an income of $64,000 a year — nearly $15,000 higher than the median household income in the United States — can now qualify for Medicaid. (Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010. September 2011 and Associated Press: Millions of middle-class people could get Medicaid. June 2011)