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The hidden value of Medicaid
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We have been hearing a lot about cuts to Medicaid throughout this economic slow down. For those individuals who receive Medicaid, this is a scary proposition. It should also be a scary proposition for all the citizens of our fine state, as Medicaid brings monies back into the system that most people do not understand.
According to a Fact Sheet prepared by Protection and Advocacy System, the Disability Coalition, The NM Human Services Department, Kaiser Family Foundation, Families USA Foundation, and NM Voices for Children, “For every $1 the state invests in Medicaid, there is an economic multiplier effect of more than $5 in the state economy. Conversely, every state dollar cut from Medicaid takes that much out of the economy.” Items that are bought with Medicaid funds include: durable good and services, and therapies, to a name a few, thus injecting money back into the system. This helps to create job growth, so that “for every $ 1 million in additional state investment in Medicaid, approximately 80 new jobs are created in New Mexico. The health care industry accounts for nearly 10% of all non-agricultural jobs in NM, and Medicaid and Medicare together account for nearly 60% of these jobs. More than 1/3 of these health care jobs are outside of the Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe metro areas. In 2002, Medicaid spending in New Mexico accounted directly for over 18,000 jobs in the state. The indirect effect of this spending in the state economy accounted for more than 10,000 other jobs. Combined, these jobs provided nearly $830 million in wages and salaries. Nearly 80% of these health care jobs in New Mexico are in the private sector.”
There are various reasons I bring this up. As we look at the economic picture that we face in New Mexico, it is easy to look at monies spent through Medicaid as “weighing down the system.” Often times when one speaks to the general public, there is no understanding of how people with disabilities contribute to the economy. Not only that, but with the job market shrinking even more than in the recent past, it might be easier to paint a picture of dependency, than as a viable part of the community as a whole.
While disabled New Mexicans continue to contribute to vitalizing the economy through purchases of goods and services, the employment rate for people with disabilities is still dismal. It is there bye very ironic that New Mexico’s unemployment rate is nearly three points less than the national average. What is it going to take to reverse the employment situation for those with disabilities? How can we begin to change the perception of people who only see the disability and not the person?
Recently I was speaking to a friend back east, who happens to have a visual disability. He relayed a story to me about always having to prove himself on the job. Although he has worked as a Residential Manager at a Half-way house for 15 years, not a day has gone by where his decisions aren’t challenged, as well as being left out of whatever larger decisions the organization makes even though he is in Management. The general tone of his co-worker’s interactions has lead him to believe that misconceptions of his mental acuity continue, and the possibilities for promotions have been limited. Unfortunately those sorts of stereotyping still exist, and here at home as well.
It is a time of change for our country, where “all hands need to be on deck.” Each one of us has a role to play to making things right. Let us remember to value the contributions of our disabled community in ways you might have not ever thought before.
