Alabama’s Hospital Crisis and The Medicaid Expansion Mirage: Brooklyn Roberts & Rep. Arnold Mooney in Yellowhammer News
Now, some are heralding Medicaid Expansion as the remedy to their financial woes. But, after delving into the data, it’s clear that expansion is nothing but a billion-dollar boondoggle with no long-term salvation in sight.
Brooklyn Roberts, senior director of the Health and Human Services Task Force co-authored an op-ed with State Representative Arnold Mooney in Yellowhammer News explaining why Medicaid expansion would create a financial burden for Alabama and its hospital crisis.
Rural hospitals, once beacons of care in the heartlands, find themselves in dire straits. Patient numbers are dwindling, the uninsured population is swelling, and attracting skilled healthcare professionals is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Now, some are heralding Medicaid Expansion as the remedy to their financial woes. But, after delving into the data, it’s clear that expansion is nothing but a billion-dollar boondoggle with no long-term salvation in sight.
States that have embraced Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act are witnessing a grim reality: one in four of their hospitals are on the brink of closure. Nearly fifty rural hospitals in these states have shuttered since the inception of expansion. What’s more, a 2020 Guidehouse study revealed that three out of the top five states with the highest percentage of essential community hospitals in danger are those expanding Medicaid. Shockingly, 76% of rural patients in these areas choose to seek care far from their communities in the hope of better care.
Upon closer scrutiny, it becomes evident that rural hospitals in expansion states are worse off. With adults swapping private insurance for Medicaid coverage, hospitals face reimbursement rates nearly 40% lower, plunging them deeper into financial turmoil. Far from being a cure-all, expansion only compounds all the challenges rural healthcare providers face.