Coverage Isn’t Care
What to know: States that have expanded Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act are shifting resources away from low-income children and to able-bodied adults.
The TPPF take: Medicaid expansion increases demand (by adding patients) while not increasing the supply of health care providers who accept Medicaid.
“Government-run health care systems make a promise to patients: affordable, accessible, and equitable care for all,” says TPPF’s David Balat. “Too often, this promise falls short, as inadequate resources and efforts to cut costs leave patients waiting for the care they need and place unnecessary burdens on physicians. Rationing is just part of government-run health care.”
For more on Medicaid expansion, click here.
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
What to know: Why are so many in the middle class fleeing states such as California that “tax the rich”? Because those same states also impose stricter regulations, along with high taxes for everyone.
The TPPF take: People are leaving states like California for states like Texas—for good reason.
“When coupled with California’s 46th-place ranking for state and local taxes in 2022 — New York was 50 — its heavy regulatory compliance burden, calculated at $134,000 annually for small businesses back in 2009 and no doubt far worse today, its business-crushing response to the Covid-19 virus, and crime with no consequences thanks to district attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco, it’s no wonder inbound movers from other states plummeted 38 percent while Californians fleeing out of state increased 12 percent last year,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore.
For more on blue states vs. red states, click here.
Secure the Border
What to know: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has told the Department of Public Safety to resume enhanced safety inspections at border crossings.
The TPPF take: The situation at the southern U.S. border remains at crisis levels.
“Gov. Abbott is correct to use all the tools at his disposal to compel immediate action and cooperation, both from U.S. federal government and Mexican authorities, to reduce the extremely dangerous level of illegal border crossings from the various Mexican border states that previously signed agreements to work with the Governor to reduce the illegal trafficking of aliens and drugs,” says TPPF’s Greg Sindelar and other members of TPPF’s Border Coalition.
For more on the border crisis, click here.