Resolution

WHEREAS, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) permit states to voluntarily opt in to Medicaid expansion, which extends taxpayer-funded health benefits to able-bodied, working-age, largely childless adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL); and

WHEREAS, Twenty-nine states have implemented PPACA’s Medicaid expansion; and

WHEREAS, Twenty-one states—Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming—have rejected PPACA’s Medicaid expansion; and

WHEREAS, The twenty-one states rejecting PPACA’s Medicaid expansion will save federal taxpayers $366.4 billion and state taxpayers $27.46 billion through 2022, according to the Urban Institute;[1] and

WHEREAS, The twenty-one states rejecting PPACA’s Medicaid will rescue 7.8 million able-bodied, working-age adults from Medicaid welfare dependency;

WHEREAS, Arkansas and New Hampshire implemented PPACA’s Medicaid expansion in 2013 and 2014, respectively, but are ending their Medicaid expansion programs in December 2016, moving another 250,000 able-bodied, working-age adults from welfare to work; and

WHEREAS, PPACA’s Medicaid expansion is largely funded with federal tax dollars, with the federal debt totaling more than $18 trillion; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid consumes more than 25 percent of all state spending, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers, and total Medicaid spending grew nearly three times faster than total K-12 spending in Fiscal Year 2014;[2] and

WHEREAS, A comprehensive study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that expanding Medicaid to able-bodied adults reduced employment and earnings among expansion populations;[3] and

WHEREAS, Researchers at Texas A&M University, Georgetown University, and the University of Illinois found that expanding Medicaid to childless adults could lower the likelihood of working by up to 10 percentage points, meaning PPACA’s Medicaid expansion could cause 2.6 million Americans to drop out of the labor force entirely.[4]

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT The states of Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming shall be commended for protecting taxpayers, jobs, and the economy by rejecting PPACA’s Medicaid expansion.

[1] Urban Institute: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/413192-What-is-the-Result-of-States-Not-Expanding-Medicaid-.PDF

[2] National Association of State Budget Officers: http://www.nasbo.org/sites/default/files/State%20Expenditure%20Report%20%28Fiscal%202012-2014%29S.pdf

[3] The Foundation for Government Accountability: http://www.thefga.org/research/work-requirements-work-well-for-welfare-reform/

[4] Ibid.