Perhaps you prefer the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. Of course, the AMA said the same thing too: Medicaid expansion saves state budget dollars: ▪ According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual survey of Medicaid directors, twelve states reported that revenues had increased in 2015 or 2016 due to Medicaid expansion.35 In New Mexico, for example, Medicaid expansion generated over $300 million to the state’s general fund.36 ▪ The decline in uncompensated care costs incurred by hospitals allows states to invest fewer resources into charity funding programs. Arkansas saved $17.2 million in state funding; California saved $1.4 billion; Kentucky saved $13.5 million; and New Jersey saved $74 million.37
▪ Fifteen states have realized savings because federal funds may now be used in lieu of state funds to pay for inmates’ care.38 Colorado, Michigan, and Ohio, for example, have saved between $5 and $13 million since 2014.39 Continuity in health care coverage may reduce recidivism by enabling access to substance use and mental health treatment services after prisoners are released.40 ▪ Thirteen states reported budget savings related to behavioral health because individuals who previously received state-funded behavioral health services may now receive those services under Medicaid.41 Michigan, for example, attributed $180 million in savings in 2014 to a drop in demand for state-funded community mental health programs after Medicaid expansion.42 ▪ In expansion states, state general fund spending on Medicaid increased on average by 3.4 percent in 2015 compared to 6.9 percent in non-expansion states.43 The Kaiser Family Foundation attributed the slower growth of general fund spending to the 100 percent federal match for the expansion population.44 Over two-thirds of expansion states reported that the average permember-per-month costs were at or below projections for the newly eligible population.45 Delete your account; kill yourself.