WA Officials Crying Wolf? Hidden Facts About Medicaid

To understand the Medicaid battle, you have to learn about it. A lot of information is being ignored by political leaders, including WA Officials, and many in the media.

  Medicaid began in 1965, Part of President Johnson's "Great Society" that also gave us welfare and food stamps.

Designed to help low-income families and those with disabilities, Medicaid worked  without major controversy until it was massively expanded as part of Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act.  Obamacare allowed persons to join whose income was 138 percent of the poverty line. More restrictions were eased until now 71.4 million Americans on in the plan.

 According to the Foundation for Government Accountability, at least 6.9 million able-bodied adults on Medicaid in the US reported no income at all. The new Federal work requirements are needed to help offset the growing financial burden on taxpayers.

Other reforms would remove individuals who are fraudulently enrolled or otherwise ineligible to be on the plan.

Despite the claims made by Officials and the media, families below the poverty line, persons with disabilities, and other qualifiers are not going to be removed.  90 percent of Washington state's Medicaid bill is paid for by the Federal government for those who qualify under the expanded Obamacare criteria. The Feds would like to reduce that to 80 percent, and much of it would come from having the state pay a higher share. This is being applied across the US, not just in WA.

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To reduce waste and deficits,  the Federal government wants states to assume more of the burden, but some states, including WA, are resistant because they don't want to lose the 'river' of Federal dollars.

  Medicaid is not being 'cut' at the Federal level

The Congressional Budget Office says between 2025 and 2034, Medicaid funding will still rise each year, but at a lower rate. When spending rates are decreased at the Federal level, they are referred to as "cuts." However, that term is being used to lead people to believe the program will be 'defunded' with less money being spent each year.

  What are WA Officials not telling the Public, and how is healthcare affected?

WA State's Medicaid Program is called Apple Health.  In 2024, the Washington State Healthcare Authority created the Apple Healthcare Expansion, a state-funded extension of Medicaid, and it was designed to offer medical benefits to illegals. It began with $72 million last year and was capped at 12,000 persons. However, the program now has, including the waiting list, 20,000.

This year, 2025, $150 million was budgeted to continue the program. This program has put WA state in the crosshairs of the Federal government because it excludes taxpaying citizens.

  The WA State legislature also voted to reduce reimbursements to hospitals for medical care for state workers and public employees.

House Bill 1123 reduced the reimbursements the state gives to hospitals and medical facilities that treat these workers. Beginning in 2027, this bill would shift more costs to the providers, and the WA State Hospital Association says it could cost hospitals more than $100 million extra each year.

Officials say hospitals, especially those in rural communities, cannot shoulder financial burdens like that for extended periods of time.

 WA State has also tripled the intake cost for beds in long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Adding to the real healthcare woes in our state, the legislature tripled the license fee paid for each bed in these facilities. It went from $116 to between $325 and $348.  This amounts to thousands of dollars annually in added costs for long-term care and assisted-care living facilities.  Owners of these AFH's or Adult Family Homes, say the increased costs will result in shortages of beds, at a time when more are needed for a population that is living longer.

There are many complex factors in the Medicaid debates, but the information and opinions being presented by Officials, from WA Officials and others, and the media do not include the other factors that have just as much or even more effect on healthcare.