Thread by @charles_gaba

Excellent summary of the situation by @xpostfactoid.

Any time you hear a conservative whine about how "expensive" #ACA subsidies are for taxpayers, remind them that there's a simple solution for that which WOULDN'T require eliminating or even hurting private insurance markets.

https://twitter.com/xpostfactoid/status/1367189093432590336

According to @MedicaidGov, Medicaid costs an average of around $6,200 per enrollee per year to cover nearly 100% of their expenses, paid for by a combination of federal + state governments.

medicaid.gov/state-overview…

Average cost per *subsidized* #ACA enrollee? Around $5,900/year to cover ~70% of their expenses. Tack on another ~$1,100/ea in annual premiums for subsidized enrollees & the other 30% in out of pocket costs and you're up to ~$9,500 or so.
acasignups.net/21/02/17/cbo-r…

Why does Medicaid cost 1/3 less than the full cost of #ACA plans (subsidies + premiums + out of pocket)? Simple...Medicaid pay healthcare providers a lot less (as does Medicare).

Of course you can flip that around: Part of the reason providers charge PRIVATE plans so much is *because* Medicare/Medicaid pay so much less.

So which is it? Should Medicare/Medicaid pay providers *more* or should private plans pay them *less*?

Probably some of each, really.

FYI: via the CBO, *expanded* #ACA subsidies in the #AmRescuePlan would ⬆️ subsidized coverage by ~1.7M while ⬆️ subsidies for *all* subsidized enrollees to ~$6,300/yr...but this wouldn't increase the *total* cost of their care.
acasignups.net/21/02/17/cbo-r…