State Sen. Phil Berger:
Well, we’re looking at the potential of 600,000 people. And, generally, the numbers that we were seeing was that the bulk of those folks would be able-bodied individuals who were not employed and not really looking for work.
The reality is that, with the way the federal program is designed, more often than not, what you have is a situation where folks who would be eligible for Medicaid in the expansion population are people that are actually working full time. Sort of the person that seems to be helped the most would be a single female with one or two children who works a full-time job.
She’s not eligible for traditional Medicaid, not eligible for subsidy of an exchange policy. And so she just falls through a gap and does not have the funds to purchase private insurance. So, I actually think that, at this time, a substantial number of the people that will be covered in the expansion population are people that are actually working.
Now, you have still got a good number of folks who will be able-bodied, not working, not willing to work who will be covered. But I just think that, on balance, given the choices that we have, it turns out to be the best policy decision for us to make at this time.