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There is robust evidence that expansion led to a host of negative spillover effects that have harmed traditional enrollees, including children. In one study, my co-author and I found that per capita Medicaid spending on children grew less than one third as fast in expansion states as in states that opted not to expand, implying that the surge in new adults joining the program probably made it harder for children to receive care. Other scholars have found that Medicaid expansion led to longer waits for doctors’ appointments, slower ambulance response times, and greater delays in emergency rooms. Ending the federal government’s favoritism toward able-bodied, working-age Medicaid enrollees would help traditional enrollees, not hurt them.
Source: Liam Sigaud, National Review