Bipartisanship and Medicaid
Just got the numbers for the Medicaid add-on from the stimulus package. I don’t deal with Medicaid directly, but it indirectly affects what I do in a large way. As such, I was interested in the numbers. However, the bigger picture bugged me more than the dollars I was assigned to look at. In essence, Barack Obama has preached bipartisanship. With the stimulus debate, although the Republicans were not allowed direct input into the final package, they were expected to vote for it purely in the spirit of bipartisanship. Now, bipartisanship goes a lot deeper than just simply voting as expected. Partisan politics permeates the entire government system. Now, if Obama wants bipartisan support from the Republicans, he needs to enforce bipartisanship throughout his administration. Given that, this is what bugged me. Here’s the breakdown of the Medicaid Add-on state by state with some additional data tossed in:
| State | Voted | Medicaid Add-on | Population | Avg Per Person | State Dev | |
| Alabama | McCain | $ 850,000,000 | 4,661,900 | $ 182.33 | $ (89.11) | -33% |
| Alaska | McCain | $ 220,000,000 | 686,293 | $ 320.56 | $ 49.13 | 18% |
| Arizona | McCain | $ 1,980,000,000 | 6,500,180 | $ 304.61 | $ 33.17 | 12% |
| Arkansas | McCain | $ 730,000,000 | 2,855,390 | $ 255.66 | $ (15.78) | -6% |
| California | Obama | $ 11,230,000,000 | 36,756,666 | $ 305.52 | $ 34.09 | 13% |
| Colorado | Obama | $ 880,000,000 | 4,939,456 | $ 178.16 | $ (93.28) | -34% |
| Connecticut | Obama | $ 1,320,000,000 | 3,501,252 | $ 377.01 | $ 105.57 | 39% |
| Delaware | Obama | $ 320,000,000 | 873,092 | $ 366.51 | $ 95.08 | 35% |
| District of Columbia | Obama | $ 300,000,000 | 591,833 | $ 506.90 | $ 235.46 | 87% |
| Florida | Obama | $ 4,390,000,000 | 18,328,340 | $ 239.52 | $ (31.92) | -12% |
| Georgia | McCain | $ 1,730,000,000 | 9,685,744 | $ 178.61 | $ (92.82) | -34% |
| Hawaii | Obama | $ 360,000,000 | 1,288,198 | $ 279.46 | $ 8.02 | 3% |
| Idaho | McCain | $ 300,000,000 | 1,523,816 | $ 196.87 | $ (74.56) | -27% |
| Illinois | Obama | $ 2,900,000,000 | 12,901,563 | $ 224.78 | $ (46.66) | -17% |
| Indiana | Obama | $ 1,440,000,000 | 6,376,792 | $ 225.82 | $ (45.62) | -17% |
| Iowa | Obama | $ 550,000,000 | 3,002,555 | $ 183.18 | $ (88.26) | -33% |
| Kansas | McCain | $ 450,000,000 | 2,802,134 | $ 160.59 | $(110.84) | -41% |
| Kentucky | McCain | $ 1,030,000,000 | 4,269,245 | $ 241.26 | $ (30.18) | -11% |
| Louisiana | McCain | $ 1,660,000,000 | 4,410,796 | $ 376.35 | $ 104.91 | 39% |
| Maine | Obama | $ 470,000,000 | 1,316,456 | $ 357.02 | $ 85.58 | 32% |
| Maryland | Obama | $ 1,630,000,000 | 5,633,597 | $ 289.34 | $ 17.90 | 7% |
| Massachusetts | Obama | $ 3,090,000,000 | 6,497,967 | $ 475.53 | $ 204.10 | 75% |
| Michigan | Obama | $ 2,270,000,000 | 10,003,422 | $ 226.92 | $ (44.51) | -16% |
| Minnesota | Obama | $ 2,030,000,000 | 5,220,393 | $ 388.86 | $ 117.42 | 43% |
| Mississippi | McCain | $ 790,000,000 | 2,938,618 | $ 268.83 | $ (2.60) | -1% |
| Missouri | McCain | $ 1,600,000,000 | 5,911,605 | $ 270.65 | $ (0.78) | 0% |
| Montana | McCain | $ 180,000,000 | 967,440 | $ 186.06 | $ (85.38) | -31% |
| Nebraska | McCain | $ 310,000,000 | 1,783,432 | $ 173.82 | $ (97.61) | -36% |
| Nevada | Obama | $ 450,000,000 | 2,600,167 | $ 173.07 | $ (98.37) | -36% |
| New Hampshire | Obama | $ 250,000,000 | 1,315,809 | $ 190.00 | $ (81.44) | -30% |
| New Jersey | Obama | $ 2,220,000,000 | 8,682,661 | $ 255.68 | $ (15.75) | -6% |
| New Mexico | Obama | $ 630,000,000 | 1,984,356 | $ 317.48 | $ 46.05 | 17% |
| New York | Obama | $ 12,650,000,000 | 19,490,297 | $ 649.04 | $ 377.60 | 139% |
| North Carolina | Obama | $ 2,350,000,000 | 9,222,414 | $ 254.81 | $ (16.62) | -6% |
| North Dakota | McCain | $ 110,000,000 | 641,481 | $ 171.48 | $ (99.96) | -37% |
| Ohio | Obama | $ 3,010,000,000 | 11,485,910 | $ 262.06 | $ (9.38) | -3% |
| Oklahoma | McCain | $ 960,000,000 | 3,642,361 | $ 263.57 | $ (7.87) | -3% |
| Oregon | Obama | $ 830,000,000 | 3,790,060 | $ 218.99 | $ (52.44) | -19% |
| Pennsylvania | Obama | $ 4,070,000,000 | 12,448,279 | $ 326.95 | $ 55.52 | 20% |
| Rhode Island | Obama | $ 470,000,000 | 1,050,788 | $ 447.28 | $ 175.85 | 65% |
| South Carolina | McCain | $ 860,000,000 | 4,479,800 | $ 191.97 | $ (79.46) | -29% |
| South Dakota | McCain | $ 120,000,000 | 804,194 | $ 149.22 | $(122.22) | -45% |
| Tennessee | McCain | $ 1,620,000,000 | 6,214,888 | $ 260.66 | $ (10.77) | -4% |
| Texas | McCain | $ 5,450,000,000 | 24,326,974 | $ 224.03 | $ (47.41) | -17% |
| Utah | McCain | $ 320,000,000 | 2,736,424 | $ 116.94 | $(154.50) | -57% |
| Vermont | Obama | $ 280,000,000 | 621,270 | $ 450.69 | $ 179.25 | 66% |
| Virginia | Obama | $ 1,470,000,000 | 7,769,089 | $ 189.21 | $ (82.23) | -30% |
| Washington | Obama | $ 2,060,000,000 | 6,549,224 | $ 314.54 | $ 43.10 | 16% |
| West Virginia | McCain | $ 450,000,000 | 1,814,468 | $ 248.01 | $ (23.43) | -9% |
| Wisconsin | Obama | $ 1,240,000,000 | 5,627,967 | $ 220.33 | $ (51.11) | -19% |
| Wyoming | McCain | $ 110,000,000 | 532,668 | $ 206.51 | $ (64.93) | -24% |
There are some deviations from the conclusion, but not many. To come to a simple conclusion of your own, just match the colors. See how many are red on the left side, and on the right. Then look to see how many are blue on the left, and blue on the right. Some conclusions from the Medicaid release:
- States that voted for Obama got over $65 billion in Medicaid funding. States that voted for McCain, $21 billion.
- States that voted for Obama averaged $403.36 per person. States that voted for McCain got $231.77.
- The state that got the most per capita is New York at $649.04, which went to Obama. The state that got the least per capita is Utah at $116.94, which went to McCain.
Draw your own conclusions. These are the numbers given to me by Medicaid. It can be argued that demographics and such mixed into the numbers. However, this is an add-on. It’s not the actual expenses per se. I don’t know what the actual criteria was for determining the add-on values. But, I just don’t think a person needing Medicaid assistance costs nearly five times as much in New York as they do in Utah. If that truly is the case, then we need to start moving those people to cheaper places. However, before we go to that extreme, I’m gonna guess it doesn’t really cost five times as much and something else affected those numbers.
Think about that the next time Obama preaches about bipartisanship.
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