Latest news with #HannahKatch
Wall Street Journal
16-06-2025
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
The High Cost of Good Intentions in Medicaid
Jared Bernstein and Hannah Katch reply to my June 5 op-ed on Medicaid by arguing that the healthcare program's expansions have been of high value to its recipients (Letters, June 12). It's more accurate to say that Medicaid is an excellent example of the high cost of good intentions. The best research on the program's effect on health outcomes is from the Oregon experiment in which people were randomly assigned to Medicaid. Researchers found little evidence that the program improved health outcomes. They also found that recipients value Medicaid at only 20% to 50% of its cost to taxpayers. State lawmakers appear to place a similarly low value on the program. They have always had the option of expanding Medicaid to able-bodied adults at their own expense. Most chose not to do so until they were offered 100% federal subsidies.
Wall Street Journal
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Is Medicaid Expansion Just?
While Jared Bernstein and Hannah Katch make several valid points in their letter 'What if Medicaid Hadn't Grown in the U.S.?' (June 12), they miss John Cogan's point. His argument is that the program originally reserved for the poor has expanded to include millions of able-bodied adults who scam the system rather than enter the workforce. If the authors want more proof, they should consult Nick Stehle's account, 'My Son Is Counting on Medicaid Work Requirements' (Cross Country, June 7). My own personal experience with our son who has special needs reinforces the point: We had to fight tooth and nail to obtain services for him, as did many of the families we know in similar circumstances. Meanwhile, incarcerated criminals had better access to healthcare. Merely quoting studies misses the personal aspects of this issue. Robert Oristaglio
