In selling Obamacare before Congress a decade ago, President Barack Obama promised that he “would not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits, either now or in the future.” From her perch behind the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaped out of her seat applauding at this line. So did Vice President Joe Biden and the entire Democrat caucus. But it turns out that … [Read more...] about Spending Deal Would Make Obamacare More Fiscally Irresponsible
Brian Blase
A Targeted Approach to Surprise Medical Billing
New Paper By Badger & Blase Surprise medical bills are a source of frustration for many Americans, and legislation to address the problem appeared to be on a fast track early in the year. But action has since slowed, primarily due to a stand-off between the two powerful interest groups that often benefit from surprise medical bills: providers and insurers. Complicating this … [Read more...] about A Targeted Approach to Surprise Medical Billing
New York City is a hot spot for illegal Medicaid enrollment
New York state is grappling with a Medicaid shortfall in the billions of dollars. And one of the main reasons is improper enrollment. Using annual information from the Census Bureau to assess the demographic make-up of Medicaid enrollees over time, researcher Aaron Yelowitz and I estimated that 2.3 million to 3.3 million Medicaid enrollees nationally make an income in excess of what is … [Read more...] about New York City is a hot spot for illegal Medicaid enrollment
The ACA’s Medicaid Expansion: A Review of Ineligible Enrollees and Improper Payments
Enrollment in Medicaid has been much higher than expected in expansion states, significant errors and problems permeate state eligibility determinations, and many enrollees are ineligible, Blase and Yelowitz explain in a detailed analysis of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion. States are responsible for monitoring who enrolls in Medicaid, but the federal government foots … [Read more...] about The ACA’s Medicaid Expansion: A Review of Ineligible Enrollees and Improper Payments
Why Obama Stopped Auditing Medicaid
The share of recipients who aren’t eligible has grown sharply since the expansion began in 2014 Improper spending in the Medicaid program more than tripled in 2019, according to an analysis by scholars Brian Blase and Aaron Yelowitz, pointing to misuse of the program since it was dramatically expanded under Obamacare. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a … [Read more...] about Why Obama Stopped Auditing Medicaid