Just as promised, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has signed an executive order which will expand Medicaid to at least 300,000 Louisianians across the state.

Already, Medicaid, a joint state and federal welfare program, pays for the healthcare costs of 1.4 million state residents. Edwards says he will be meeting with President Obama to discuss how to work out all the details of expanding Medicaid in the state.

But, what seems like a popular idea, could end up being a massive federal welfare expansion that will bill taxpayers for the ultimate costs.

For instance, the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) is estimating that Medicaid expansion will cost taxpayers more than $1.3 billion over the next decade.

The state-federal welfare program prioritizes coverage of able-bodied adults over individuals with disabilities, something the program was never meant to take on.

And though the common belief is that Medicaid expansion reduces the use of emergency room services along with the costs, the opposite is actually the case. A study by the Oregon Experiment found that Medicaid expansion actually increases emergency room use by 40 percent.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a long-time physician, said Medicaid expansion in the state will follow the course of what has occurred in other states, costing taxpayers double what was initially accounted for.

Not to mention, the expansion will likely throw 224,000 state residents off of their private plans and onto the Medicaid rolls.

For example, small business employees who have private insurance will likely be thrown onto Medicaid now because small business owners are already paying hefty prices for healthcare due to Obamacare. Therefore, small business owners will put their employees onto Medicaid so that the taxpayer can pay for the price of healthcare.

For many, being on Medicaid is no different than uninsured. Either way, state residents will likely end up at the emergency room with taxpayers ultimately footing the bill.

Medicaid is known as being the lowest form of insurance possible, meaning the ideal situation is to have as little state residents on it as possible so that the private market can pick up individuals. However, expansion will put the maximum amount of individuals on Medicaid, leaving taxpayers once again footing the bill.

In states like California, Medicaid expansion has become a way to hook residents into state government dependency. Medicaid in the golden state has exploded by over 50 percent since it expanded the healthcare welfare program after Obamacare became federal law.

The amount of individuals on California’s Medicaid program is already encompassing about one-third of the state’s massive population, making it a promise-land for the welfare state. That is nearly 1 in 3 Californians being on Medicaid. And because Medicaid service prices have been reduced, doctors have been reluctant to participate in the program.

Medicaid expansion is the Law of Unintended Consequences. Looks great on paper, but can quickly become a colossal failure.