Gov. Steve Beshear
A year later, the results of Kentucky's Medicaid expansion are in, and it is
all good news.
One year after it was enacted, Kentucky's Medicaid expansion is benefiting patients and health care providers—and is expected to generate jobs and economic growth that will more than offset $1.1 billion in state costs through 2021, according to a state study released Thursday.
The expansion, which enrolled 375,000 people in the health care program for the poor and disabled last year, is now projected to create 40,000 jobs and add $30 billion to the economy in the next six years—more than initially predicted.
That's from an analysis the state had conducted by Deloitte Consulting and the University of Louisville. Those gains boil down to a net budget gain of nearly $820 million for state and local governments. "For all the naysayers who claimed that expanding Medicaid was a budget-busting boondoggle, take a look at the facts," said Gov. Steve Beshear in response to the news.
There's also the other part—375,000 people who didn't have health care do now. That's saving lives. The Koch brothers must be so pissed.