FGA Report Shows that Labor Force Participation Decreased as Medicaid Enrollment Skyrocketed Over Past Two Decades

NAPLES, Fla., Jan. 31, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A recent report published by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) found that even as employers struggle to fill the 10 million job openings, Medicaid enrollment has grown at rates faster than ever before.

Since 2000, more than 27 million Americans have been added to Medicaid, with able-bodied adults being the driving force of the enrollment surge. Findings show that Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare exacerbated the problem. Between 2013 and 2018 alone, able-bodied adult enrollment nearly doubled while all other enrollment categories in the Medicaid program only grew by two percent.

As states economies attempt to recover from the workforce shortage, government benefits are hurting employers by making it more lucrative to stay home rather than work. After Missouri recently expanded Medicaid in October 2020, enrollment increased by nearly 16 percent while their labor force participation rate decreased by 11 percent.

Georgia's Medicaid enrollment has seen a 140 percent increase since 2000, while their labor force suffered a sharp decline of a 10 percent drop over the same period. Since 2000, Kentucky has seen an increase of 153 percent in Medicaid enrollment, while their labor force participation rate has decreased by 11 percent. In that same time, Idaho has seen Medicaid enrollment increase by 206 percent while their labor force participation rate decreased by nearly 10 percent.

"As 57 percent of small businesses face permanent closure, and many sectors of the economy are still struggling, the federal government's 2021 'stimulus' package of $1.9 trillion didn't create a single promised job," said Jonathan Bain, Senior Research Fellow at FGA. "Lawmakers must adopt policies that move able-bodied adults from welfare to work. It is the only way to end the workforce shortage and create economic recovery."

Getting Americans off the sidelines and back to work will continue to be a problem so long as states trap individuals in government dependency with programs like Medicaid. Lawmakers must protect their labor force with policies that encourage job applications rather than welfare applications.

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The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that promotes public policy solutions to create opportunities for every American to experience the American Dream. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.

Media Contact

Kristen Eichamer, Foundation for Government Accountability, 239-300-9081, [email protected]

SOURCE Foundation for Government Accountability