[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 184 (Sunday, October 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S6532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                Adults who could lose Medicaid coverage

  Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poor that is 
jointly funded by the federal government and the states, has been the 
workhorse of Obamacare. If the health law were struck down, more than 
12 million low-income adults who have gained Medicaid coverage through 
the law's expansion of the program could lose it.
  In all, according to the Urban Institute, enrollment in the program 
would drop by more than 15 million, including roughly three million 
children who got Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program 
when their parents signed up for coverage.
  The law ensures that states will never have to pay more than 10 
percent of costs for their expanded Medicaid population; few if any 
states would be able to pick up the remaining 90 percent to keep their 
programs going. Over all, the federal government's tab was $66 billion 
last year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
  Losing free health insurance would, of course, also mean worse access 
to care and, quite possibly, worse health for the millions who would be 
affected. Among other things, studies have found that Medicaid 
expansion has led to better access to preventive screenings, 
medications and mental health services.

                                800,000