Back To ArticlesAfter Pennsylvania covered low-income working-age adults through Medicaid Expansion in, its uninsured rate went from 19% to 5% and uncompensated care costs decreased by 28%.
While Medicaid Expansion accounts for only 12% of total state Medicaid expenditures, it has delivered real economic growth: 62,000 new jobs, $7.3 billion more in economic output, $4.4 billion more in state GDP, and $312.3 million more in state/local tax revenue.
If Congress cuts Medicaid Expansion, PA would likely lose $2.2 billion a year, leaving the state to cover 4.5 times the program’s current cost. To cover the increased cost, Pennsylvania would be forced to consider options like: raising taxes significantly, cutting funding to non-healthcare priorities like education, roads, or bridges, or:
- Ending health coverage for 755,000 low-income adults, most of whom are working. Medicaid Expansion covers 10% of working-age adults in Pennsylvania. Most do not have job-based health benefits and would not be eligible for health insurance through Pennie.
- Cutting benefits that keep seniors, people with disabilities, and children healthy. If Pennsylvania tries to avoid a massive increase in uninsured people, it would be forced to look at cutting benefits that states are not required to cover, like:
- Most mental and behavioral health care, treatment, and recovery supports
- In-home care for people with disabilities and seniors
- School nurses and school-based services for children with disabilities
- Coverage for children with special needs
- Prescription drugs, dental, vision, & hearing for seniors
- Reducing rates for hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers. Reduced Medicaid payments would threaten the financial stability of 49 Pennsylvania hospitals, and would exacerbate the existing shortage of nursing home beds. With lower rates, more providers would opt-out of Medicaid, leaving patients without adequate care.