Expansion helps economy

Just under half the states, including Georgia, will decline to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in 2014. It is likely, however, that a majority of those states will eventually opt into Medicaid expansion. The return on investment of expansion to state taxpayers is too great to ignore.

In Georgia, the cost of care for the uninsured is well over $2 billion annually. That care is paid for by state and local tax payers, consumers of health care services and consumers of health insurance. That care is often given in the most expensive places (emergency rooms) and at the most expensive time (late in an episode of illness). Expanding access to insurance coverage reduces emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

If Georgia chooses not to expand Medicaid, more than 1.6 million residents will lack health insurance coverage in 2014. Taxpayers will continue to bear the costs of care for Georgia’s uninsured, while their federal tax dollars will help reduce those costs for taxpayers in states that expand their Medicaid programs.

The federal money Medicaid expansion would draw into Georgia would generate new economic activity, increase employment, create income and increase state and local tax revenue. The federal government pays 100 percent of the cost of care for Medicaid expansion in the first three years; the state share for those three years is simply increased administrative costs.

That new federal money, net of federal taxes paid by Georgians, would amount to more than $40 billion over a decade. It’s estimated that as many as 70,000 new jobs would be created in Geor-

JOHN OVERMYER / NEWSART