26 JAN 2010, Wednesday

• A large component of Obamacare shifts the currently uninsured onto Medicaid.  The problem is that the states have to foot a good portion of that bill.  
• Above, shows what the increased outlays will be for states under that initiative.
• According to projected national health expenditures from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicaid spending in 2019 will be $896.2 billion. Without the health care law, CMS projects that the amount would have been $802.4 billion.  
• This means that the President’s health care law will increase Medicaid spending by 12 percent or about $100 billion annually. The extra spending comes from the additional 18 million or so individuals—mostly non-disabled and non-elderly adults without children—who will now have taxpayers paying their health care bills through the Medicaid program.
• Two central components of the law expand eligibility to the government-run Medicaid program and offer costly subsidies to an estimated 20 million individuals to purchase health insurance. With an increasing amount of health care subsidization, taxes will increase, but so will the demand for health care services. This problem is exacerbated because there is very limited out-of-pocket payment for Medicaid. The subsidies and the increased third-party payment will cause health spending to grow, not slow.
• As to the State of the Union address, was it just me that thought it odd how President Obama howled about the budget deficit and the immediate need to cut spending and then went right on talking about a freeze (equals no cuts from the 25% added last year) and a whole truckload of new spending?
• Sheesh...I don't know what they teach those folks in Harvard.  But, it sure seems that they're not getting their money's worth.  Just saying.
• Market still up.
• Curious as to what inflation has done to prices over your lifetime?  Good...click and play!