Medicaid, which provides its enrollees with inferior care, forces many to use emergency rooms for primary services because of substandard physician pay. Presently it also causes a severe financial drain on both federal and state governments, in 2020 costing 7% of federal and on average 1/3 of state budgets. The program needs serious overhauling to properly care for those in need while conserving scarce resources. Thoughts of expanding Medicaid in its present inferior state to meet the healthcare needs of those below a certain income and uninsured may make some in Congress feel benevolent when, in reality, they may be doing harm, especially if a better alternative is available.
