Report Suggests Expanding Medicaid Would Bring 41,200 New Jobs to Pennsylvania in 2016

A report last week from Families USA and the Pennsylvania Health Access Network said expanding Medicaid would lead to 41,200 new jobs in 2016, as $3.5 billion more in Medicaid funding would flow into the state to cover as many as 682,000 uninsured low-income Pennsylvanians.

Neal Bisno, Pennsylvania health-care director for the Service Employees International Union, which represents 25,000 health-care workers in the state, notes:

"In so many communities, health-care institutions are the largest employers. Pennsylvania is literally denying good-quality jobs to tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians - good jobs providing vital care to people in need." 

If Pennsylvania does not accept the Medicaid expansion, it will see $1.9 billion in cuts from for charitable care that would have been offset by lower income families being placed on the Medicaid roles. Most Hospitals are registered as charitable groups or 501c(3) organizations.