Forbes November 23, 2019
Health care will be a dominant campaign issue leading up to the 2020 presidential and congressional elections; the Democratic primary debates have made that clear. Yet, at least for another year, the most meaningful health care policy reforms will be coming out of state capitals.
Health care costs for state governments, particularly Medicaid spending, are growing faster than all other categories of state spending. This is the case in the 36 states that have expanded their Medicaid programs in accordance with Obamacare, as well as the 14 states that have declined to adopt Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
The share of total state spending consumed by Medicaid has risen by more than 36% over the past decade. Today nearly 29% of...