Voters Support Stopping ObamaCare Expansion Enrollment to Protect the Truly Needy
- BY FGA
Washington, D.C. — Tuesday evening, President Trump stressed his directive that Congress repeal and replace ObamaCare with “reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and at the same time, provide better healthcare.”
To effectively do so, any plan presented by Congress must include an immediate freeze of Medicaid expansion enrollment. Under an enrollment freeze, no new enrollees would be able to sign up, but as long as current enrollees maintain their eligibility, they would be allowed to stay on the program.
Such a freeze is politically popular. A recent poll, released today by FGA, finds that 79% of Republicans and 81% of Trump voters support stopping ObamaCare expansion enrollment.
“Current conditions are unsustainable and place millions of truly needy Americans at risk,” FGA President and CEO Tarren Bragdon said. “We face a fiscal nightmare for states unable to handle exploding enrollment and budget-overruns into the billions of dollars. It is irresponsible to continue on this course.”
President Trump also referenced the failure of ObamaCare in Governor Matt Bevin’s state of Kentucky, where they currently face expansion enrollment at 134% over projections and $3 billion over budget. On average, every expansion state with available data has enrolled 110% more able-bodied adults than projected.
“An enrollment freeze would allow states to begin to prioritize the truly needy, nearly 600,000 of whom are stuck on Medicaid waiting lists nationwide,” Bragdon said. “Arizona and Maine have seen excellent results from enrollment freezes in the past – it’s time to take their success to the federal level where taxpayers could save more than half a trillion dollars.”
To read the poll, click here.
The Foundation for Government Accountability is a non–profit, multi–state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, and regulatory reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.
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