Hundreds of US citizens in the Bay State area of Massachusetts stand to lose their health insurance if the American Health Care Act becomes law, with many others due to see an increase in out-of-pocket costs. The poor and the elderly are at risk of losing vital support, with elderly Americans already lacking coverage by Medicare for the latter stages of their lives. Nursing home care and full-time home assistance is currently not covered by the insurance, despite a 40% chance of a person over the age of 65 entering a home and the costs of living in a home being between $80,000 and $90,000 on average. Medicaid currently covers those costs, with 60% of nursing home residents using the insurance to cover costs. However, if $834bn is cut from Medicaid with the passing of the new Act, many citizens will be left with sky-high costs. Seniors currently represent 21% of all Medicaid expenses, despite only representing 9% of beneficiaries. In addition to these direct impacts on individuals, there have been indirect effects as well. We could raise taxes to make up for the loss of federal funding. Massachusetts’ solution could be to raise taxes to almost 6% to accommodate the lack of federal funding, but the costs could reach the billions. The state could also cut down on spending, but these changes could make it even more difficult for elderly residents to access long-term care and nursing home provisions. The threshold for Medicaid could be pushed lower, making the limit essentially the poverty line only. The effects of this type of decision, however, could be catastrophic, as elderly citizens form a powerful voting class that could sway political decisions in future.
Hundreds of US citizens in the Bay State area of Massachusetts stand to lose their health insurance if the American Health Care Act becomes law, with many others due to see an increase in out-of-pocket costs. The poor and the elderly are at risk of losing vital support, with elderly Americans already lacking coverage by Medicare for the latter stages of their lives. Nursing home care and full-time home assistance is currently not covered by the insurance, despite a 40% chance of a person over the age of 65 entering a home and the costs of living in a home being between $80,000 and $90,000 on average. Medicaid currently covers those costs, with 60% of nursing home residents using the insurance to cover costs. However, if $834bn is cut from Medicaid with the passing of the new Act, many citizens will be left with sky-high costs. Seniors currently represent 21% of all Medicaid expenses, despite only representing 9% of beneficiaries. In addition to these direct impacts on individuals, there have been indirect effects as well. Massachusetts’ solution could be to raise taxes to almost 6% to accommodate the lack of federal funding, but the costs could reach the billions. The state could also cut down on spending, but these changes could make it even more difficult for elderly residents to access long-term care and nursing home provisions. The threshold for Medicaid could be pushed lower, making the limit essentially the poverty line only. The effects of this type of decision, however, could be catastrophic, as elderly citizens form a powerful voting class that could sway political decisions in future.