Medicaid's Misuse of Funds : 60% Misdirected

The question that remains, is there any way to stop the escalation? Will congress be able to stem the waste or reallocation of funds as indicated here? It seems simple enough to issue vouchers directly to individuals rather then getting caught in the nightmare of red tape that surrounds providers.

The problem of issuing voucher is that there are a lot of people in between the government and the recipients that are currently taking their share of the Medicaid funds. Everyone has a job and must  be paid to do it no matter what. Right? It's the governments way of doing things and it can only get worse the longer congress sits on their collective hands.

Who will stand and deliver?

Only 20 to 40 Cents of Each Medicaid Dollar Benefits Recipients
Source: John R. Graham, "Only 20 to 40 Cents of Each Medicaid Dollar Benefits Recipients" Providence Journal, August 16, 2015.

August 21, 2015

Medicaid is jointly funded by state and federal governments. It grows regardless of the state of the economy and its main purpose is to help those without enough income to pay for their medical care, says senior fellow John R. Graham of the National Center for Policy Analysis.

However, a study conducted in 2008 in Oregon found out that:

• Medicaid increased the use of health services and reduced the risk of large out-of-pocket medical expenses.
• Nevertheless, it did not improve mortality of any physical health measure.
• Of a figure of $1,576 only $465 was directly related to health care. The rest only freed up resources for other types of consumption.
• The net cost to taxpayers was $1,374 per recipient.
• The amount of government spending that was simply transferred to providers was $2,222.
• Yet Medicaid spending keeps growing, and is much larger than other welfare programs.

The author concludes that Medicaid spending should be reduced and the funds converted to vouchers instead of being paid to providers directly, says Graham.