New York State taxpayers are being bled dry by the State’s bloated Medicaid and Essential health care plans. These plans cost the taxpayer an extra $20 billion and some are likely fraudulent expenses.
Shockingly, according to Empire Center, “The share of Medicaid costs financed by state taxpayers has jumped by 53 percent over the past five years and currently consumes about 28 percent of all state operating funds.”
The Empire Center calls it ‘Medicaid Overdose’. Their new report reveals astonishing and unsustainable numbers showing that while Medicaid enrollment has grown nationwide over the past decade, New York has taken it to levels not seen in any other state.
“New York provides Medicaid and Medicaid-like health coverage to 44 percent of its population, which is 15 points higher than a decade ago and seven points above any other state. Within New York City, a remarkable 60 percent of residents are enrolled in state-sponsored insurance.”
That translates to over 8.8 million people in New York with health insurance entirely covered by the taxpayer. New York expanded Medicaid-like coverage to those with incomes up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level - the highest income threshold in the United States.
Empire Center says, “The overuse of taxpayer-funded insurance harms the state in multiple ways. Most obvious is the added burden on taxpayers. Even assuming most of the 3 million excess enrollees are non-disabled adults and children, they could be costing Medicaid $20 billion or more per year.”
“About 5.5 million New Yorkers have incomes low enough to meet the standard eligibility limits for Medicaid or the Essential Plan. Yet enrollment in the two programs stands at about 8.5 million – pointing to a surplus of 3 million. In other words, roughly one-third of the people receiving taxpayer-funded coverage from New York appear to be earning too much to qualify,” says the report.
Three million people who do not meet even the most generous income threshold in the country are enrolled at taxpayer expense at a time when inflation has hit working families brutally over the past four years under the Biden-Harris Administration.
The report points to emergency rules during COVID-19 as the primary cause Medicaid rolls temporarily swelled. Empire Center says, “Other states have developed similar enrollment surpluses in recent years, but New York’s is proportionally the largest.”
Besides the overly generous income thresholds for enrollment, two other huge factors led to the bleeding of resources. The program known as the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program allows people to choose a relative or friend to take care of them and get paid through Medicaid and rampant use of savvy lawyers to use the nuances of estate planning that allow the wealthy to qualify for Medicaid long-term care coverage while protecting their wealth.
Abuses in both of these programs are widespread and are not sustainable. They shouldn't be accepted even if money did grow on trees. Medicaid is designed to help people temporarily in financial hardship or for people who cannot help themselves. It is not meant to be extra income for a relative or to subsidize the wealthy.
Empire Center says there is an enormous added burden on the taxpayer. “Even assuming most of the 3 million excess enrollees are non-disabled adults and children, they could be costing Medicaid $20 billion or more per year. That expense would be roughly split between the state and federal governments, and New Yorkers pay taxes to both.”
The To-Do list for New York State’s government is clear. The massive over-enrollments in the state’s Medicaid program have to be dealt with - and soon. The Governor and legislature should see that they have allowed this program to become completely out of control.
What does New York need to do? First, tighten eligibility rules then strengthen enforcement. Empire Center says New York’s excessive taxes and regulations make commercial insurance unaffordable for many. New York needs to roll back taxes and regulations paving the way for more to afford private insurance. Massive subsidies in Medicaid coupled with an unaffordable private insurance market make for a real mess for the taxpayer and the person wanting to have health coverage.
Empire Center gives New York good advice on how to be better stewards of our tax dollars while still providing for those in need. “New York should stop abusing Medicaid as a catch-all insurance plan for almost half the state’s population. Instead, it should refocus the program on its original and most important purpose, which is to provide care for those who cannot help themselves.”