More than 12 million nondisabled, working-age Americans are enrolled in Medicaid. They receive medical care that is virtually free, and in most states they are under no obligation to work or seek work.

Sounds like a great deal.

Until you consider how much these “free” benefits may cost a recipient over the course of a lifetime. That could total more than $323,000 in foregone wages for men and over $212,000 for women, according to a study by the Buckeye Institute, an Ohio-based free-market think tank.