No headline

Recent letters to the editor have tried to convince us that Medicaid expansion (Prop. 2) saves money, increases self-reliance, and works well for the economy. Now if you really believe that have I got a deal for you on some worthless stock I own.

Medicaid was originally intended for elderly, disabled, and low-income individuals. Obamacare’s expansion program added able-bodied adults of working age earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. They do not have to work if they don’t want to, and there is no time limit for receiving benefits.

According to the Foundation for Government Accountability as of July 2018, 6.8 million, or 55 percent, of Medicaid expansion enrollees are not working. In some states it’s up to 70 percent. More people signed up than initially projected in all states. In California, for instance, it was four times as many.

Medicaid expansion does not save our country money, because it is not “free,” as claimed by proponents, someone must pay. The federal government’s contribution has already been reduced and can be expected to drop more, leaving states to look at either higher taxes or cutting funds in essential areas.

In plain terms, Medicaid expansion is shaping up as a black hole of welfare for able-bodied adults that will encourage increased dependency on the government while siphoning funding from schools, law enforcement, road construction, and other health services including those for the truly needy.

It’s not the right thing to do for Idaho. Vote no.

JOHN OLDFIELD

Sandpoint