November 1, 2013 - 9:46 AM
President Barack Obama (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
(CNSNews.com) - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services--the federal agency that created and is operating the Obamacare exchanges--says in a budget document provided to the congressional appropriations committees that the Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will cover almost 116,000,000 Americans in 2014.
That equals approximately 37 percent of the nation’s total population and approximately 43 percent of the population that will have some kind of health insurance.
Of the approximately 57 percent of Americans who will remain in non-government run health insurance plans next year, many will qualify for a federal tax subsidy if they buy a government-approved plan in the government exchanges run by CMS because they earn less than the 400 percent of the poverty threshold set in the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).
“CMS remains the largest purchaser of health care in the United States,” says the agency’s budget justification. “Our programs combined currently pay almost one-third of the nation’s health expenditures.
“In FY 2014, we expect to serve almost 116 million Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries, more than one-in-three Americans,” said CMS.
According to the Census Bureau, there are now 316,795,196 people residing in the United States. The approximately 116,000,000 people CMS predicts will be enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP in 2014 equals 36.6 percent of the total population.
However, the CBO has estimated that even with the implementation of Obamacare there will still be 44 million Americans who are uninsured in 2014. When you subtract those 44 million from the 316,795,196 total population, that leaves 272,795,196 people who will have either private or government insurance.
The approximately 116,000,000 that CMS says will be on Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP in 2014 will equal 42.5 percent of the people who have health insurance.
Further the CBO says that its estimate of 44 million uninsured people "includes unauthorized immigrants as well as people who are eligible for but not enrolled in Medicaid.”
Were Congress to enact legislation legalizing illegal aliens and/or the federal government were to succeed in getting more of the eligible people to enroll in Medicaid, the percentage of people in the United States enrolled in government-run health care could increase beyond 43 percent without changing the terms of Obamacare.
In its budget justification, CMS summarizes the new laws that have been enacted over the last ten years that have significantly increased the agency’s size and power.
“Over the past decade, legislation has significantly expanded CMS’ responsibilities,” says the budget document. “In 2003, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) added a prescription drug benefit.”
“The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) improved outreach, enrollment, and access to benefits within the Medicaid and CHIP programs, and mandated development of child health quality measures and reporting for children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP,” said CMS.
“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA or ‘Recovery Act’) provided investments for technological advances, including health information technology and the use of electronic health records, along with prevention and wellness activities,” said CMS.
“In March 2010, the president signed into law the Affordable Care Act (ACA),” said CMS. “The legislation contains numerous provisions which impact CMS’ traditional role as the overseer of Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP including: a major expansion of the Medicaid program; a two-year extension of CHIP; the establishment of a new Federal Coordinated Health Care Office in CMS to improve care for beneficiaries who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.”
“In January 2011,” says the agency’s budget document, “CMS became responsible for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections and private health insurance provisions.”
“By 2014, CMS will work with states to create new competitive Health Insurance Marketplaces and provide millions of Americans with access to affordable healthcare coverage,” the document said.
“CMS outlays more benefits than any other Federal agency and we are committed to administering our programs as efficiently and effectively as possible,” it says.
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