An incredible story out of West Virginia contends that expanding Medicaid will save money.

West Virginia’s health-care system could save up to $2.2 billion a year beginning in 2014 with an aggressive expansion of Medicaid and other health reforms, according to an actuarial report presented to state legislators Monday.

How will this magic happen? Everything will work out because the Fed’s are footing the bill!

States will eventually be asked to pay for Medicaid expansion, and that is likely to cost West Virginia nearly between $40 million and $50 million a year, Bryant said. But the federal government would pick up the tab for the first two years.

“It is remarkable the amount of money that the federal government is considering putting into the expansion of Medicaid,” he told lawmakers at an interim legislative meeting.

Saying that this will “save” West Virginia money is an accounting trick.  The (temporary) money coming in from the federal government has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the taxpayers.  This includes, obviously, West Virginians.

This is another example of the destructive influence of federal dollars on state policy.