July 28, 2015
By Stephanie Carson,
RALEIGH, NC– As Medicaid turns 50 this week, a new report by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families shows that Medicaid has positive long-term effects on children, their parents, and the economy. Currently, over one million children in North Carolina receive Medicaid benefits, which makes up 52 percent of North Carolina’s Medicaid population. On the national level, Medicaid expansion efforts have contributed to the decrease in uninsured rate of children from 14 to seven percent.
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The Georgetown report includes a study that examines the tax payments of a group of people who received Medicaid as children in the 1980s and 90s. Joan Alker, executive director with the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, says by the time the group had reached age 28, the government had recouped 32 cents for every $1 spent on Medicaid.
“Some studies are now finding that children who received Medicaid actually pay more taxes as adults, and use fewer government subsidies,” says Alker. “The government is getting a great return on investment by providing kids with Medicaid.”
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The Georgetown report also found that children with Medicaid coverage grow up to be healthier adults with decreased incidences of drinking, eating disorders and deaths by treatable causes.
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