The Washington Post wants readers to think the $30 billion in additional Medicaid spending required of state governments under some of the health care reform plans is a really huge burden. Is it? It might have helped if the Post had at least once given the time-frame over which these expenses would be incurred. It is over the 10-year budget window from 2011 to 2020. It might also have been useful to give us a basis of comparison, like total state spending. State governments are collectively projected to spend close to $30 trillion over this period. That means that the $30 billion Medicaid burden is equal to approximately 0.1 percent of projected state spending.
--Dean Baker
