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Essay about Medicaid Expansion

Decent Essays

Kelsey Pasley
ENG 112
Traditional Argument

Medicaid Expansion

In 2009 there were 50.7 million people, 16.7% of the population, without health insurance. Americans all over the country are working and yet they still can’t afford to pay the high cost of health insurance for themselves and their families. Under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which was signed by Obama on March 23, 2010, thirty two million Americans who were previously not eligible for Medicaid may now have the opportunity to be covered. If this act is passed in North Carolina then it will be expanded to cover nearly all of the 1.5 million North Carolinians who are without health insurance. If more Americans are covered under the Medicaid that they need then …show more content…

The Medicaid expansion will cost the federal government between 15-20 billion dollars in the first six years, but the federal government is paying for 93% of the direct expansion costs. But with the expansion, the greater majority of people will be able to pay their own medical bills, which means the state and local governments will save millions of dollars. If Medicaid is not expanded to the millions who have low incomes and aren’t insured, then starting in 2014 Americans who don’t pay for health insurance and aren’t eligible for Medicaid will then be issued a tax. In 2014 Americans will have to pay 95 dollars or one percent of their income, which ever is higher. The tax will only increase from there. In 2015 Americans will have to pay 325 dollars or two percent of their income, and in 2016 the tax will increase to 695 dollars or 2 and a half percent of their income. Americans who make $200,000 or more annually and couples with incomes above $250,000 will have a tax increase to help cover the costs of the program. Some may argue that the expansion of Medicaid is a bad idea because of the potential shortage of healthcare professionals. A new study has predicted that the expansion of Medicaid could lead to a shortage of 52,000 primary care physicians by 2025, it also states that visits to the doctors will increase from 462 million a year to 565 million a year, which will strain the system. Its also

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