EDITORIAL: Medicaid expansion sparks economic stimulus, healthier workers

April 15--That Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Legislature were wrong to turn down the expansion of Medicaid insurance coverage for the working poor almost a decade ago is amply demonstrated by the experience of the first year since John Bel Edwards reversed course.

An independent analysis by the LSU Public Administration Institute found that Medicaid expansion is a win for the state.

It covers working people who make up to 138 percent of the poverty line, less than $35,000 for a family of four. As a practical matter, these are the uninsured, since the price of coverage was simply too high, even when employers offered some benefits.

The advantages of expansion are both financial and medical.

On the financial front, the generous federal matching grants for expansion -- more than 90 percent -- mean that money once spent on care for the uninsured, often in emergency rooms, is now available through doctor's offices.

The state's savings are substantial. But the LSU report also noted that more than $1.8 billion spent on medical care -- doctors and nurses, treatments and hospitals -- represents a significant stimulus for the general economy. Health care is ultimately a payroll-oriented business, and those paychecks boost communities across the state. It's a source of revenue for hospitals, federally qualified health clinics and other institutions supporting a healthier state.

"This economic impact means sustaining and creating employment impacts, personal earnings, and state and local tax receipts," the report said.

But we like the medical benefits. Thousands of Louisiana families have access to health care, and the report details how many have taken advantage of life-saving procedures, including preventive medicine.

That's good for the economy. These are workers who can do better at their jobs and better care for their families.

The economists put it more dryly: "Improved healthcare access can also have a positive effect on the labor force participation rate, defined as the number of persons in the work force who are 16 years of age and older. Improved labor force participation rates should be one long-term result of the Medicaid expansion program, and rising labor force participation rates will allow for further employment growth in the state."

Still, good news. In fact, undeniable good news.

Why this was not adopted in Louisiana a long time ago? Ugly politics, with then-Gov. Jindal, a Republican, campaigning against anything related to "Obamacare," the 2010 federal law authorizing expansion. Many legislators supported his stand. They were wrong.

The state and its people are better off because Gov. Edwards embraced Medicaid expansion.

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