We take Medicaid. It was 38% of our billing last year. It is administered in WA state by six different health insurance companies. Some provide better coverage than others as far as who is in-network and who is not; all of them cost exactly the same to the consumer, all of them pay exactly the same to the provider. Under Medicaid you can go see a provider, be told "we aren't covered by Provider X but if you switch to Provider Y not only are we covered but you get a free car seat." And you can switch, at no cost, every month with a couple pages of paperwork. One of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated on the people of the United States is the idea that healthcare is complicated and that a public option is impossible. If we switched to 100% medicaid our revenue would go UP.
1.5 million people on Medicaid in Washington State, out of 7.5 million. $10.9 billion spent, of which $6.5B was federal and $3.5B was state. It was 19% of the state's budget of $54B. Medicaid costs the State of Washington $7200 per person. Healthcare spending in the United States was $11400 per person in 2019.