Bush's Medicaid plan could slash safety net

SJ Mercury News ^ | 2/23/03 | Editorial Board

[NormsRevenge]

PRESIDENT Bush's plan for Medicaid represents a fundamental change in the philosophy behind the health care program for poor and disabled Americans.

It's a change California's congressional delegation should resist.

Here's the current philosophy: The federal government will match the money states pay for health services to poor children and disabled adults. All states offer a basic level of services; if they offer more, the feds will match those dollars, too. Wealthier states like California receive roughly one federal dollar for every state dollar; poorer states like Mississippi receive more than $3.

[NormsRevenge]

Now this is more like it, merc. The fish wrap that would foster lies and pervert the truth and keep the corrupt in power.

[CanisMajor2002]

Decent article with a provocative title. What good is a "safety net" if it's held in place with Kleenex? :)

[shrinkermd]

"Here's the Bush philosophy: Give the states more flexibility on how to spend federal Medicaid dollars, but cap the total amount. The federal guarantee of matching funds will disappear. And while the total amount given to the states will rise at first, it will drop later.

"In government-speak, Medicaid is an entitlement. Bush would change it to a block grant -- with the amount entirely up to Washington.

This is a forward looking policy change. If the states cannot understand and manage their affairs better than Washington can, we are all doomed.

[irish_lad]

Most of what the SJ Mercury said is true. The MAJORITY of Medicaid recipients are children and the most of the remainder are the disabled and the elderly.

The block grant concept may work if the Feds are prevented from cutting the grants in the future; however, balancing the budget on those who have no other resources is not a prudent idea. I could not advocate cutting therapy funding for mentally disabled patients, and this would happen under these proposed changes.

GW Bush is my personal hero, but I cannot support him in this proposal.

[OpusatFR]

You all loved the Block Grants from the 70's. What's the problem this time?

[mingwah]

I tried to report Medicaid fraud against my father in 1999 to the State of Tennessee Medical Board of Examiners and Washington, D.C. fraud hotline(was on hold for 2 hours and counting). I gave up after two years.
Atleast this addresses my cynicism.

[FITZ]

The MAJORITY of Medicaid recipients are children

But it's up to their parents to pay for their health care of get an insurance policy. If you can't afford kids because you aren't working a full time job with benefits, then you should wait to have them.

[irish_lad]

But it's up to their parents to pay for their health care of get an insurance policy. If you can't afford kids because you aren't working a full time job with benefits, then you should wait to have them.

Oh get off it. That is a VERY simplistic view of the problem. How are we going to deal with the problem NOW? "Sorry kids, no medical coverage or other benefits because your parents should have waited to get a decent job before they had you." Never mind that mom and dad have only a high school diploma and make about $9.50 an hour per person.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?

Should kids be made to suffer because their parents did stupid things?

[texastoo]

Hey, Irish,

Maybe you should send Fitz your copy of "It Takes a Village" by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

[FITZ]

No but a lot of times people just decide they don't need to be responsible at all because the government will take care of all their problems. I work with women who dropped Blue Cross Blue Shield partly paid by the employer plans when CHIP was offered. Many said it was easy because they only reported their own income and put down they were single ---which wasn't even true for all of them. With CHIP they can get almost everything for pennies even though they had access to private insurance that isn't outrageous. In this region, over one third the "families" are on some kind of welfare program, many are single mothers with a number of kid --- over one third taking handouts is getting to be scary I think.

[FITZ]

Also many of these same co-workers who dropped private insurance to get CHIP are driving brand new cars ----when these programs get cut, many people don't suffer at all and can make due quite well.

Much of the problems the states are facing is every single program that gets cut back in any way will have many people very outraged ---many were demanding all the social programs be expanded and won't find any cut at all tolerable.

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

Gut it! Abolish this welfare entitlement.

[GrandMoM]

BUMP

[irish_lad]

No, you should read it, and like Hillary become a village idiot.

Cutting funding for the most vulnerable is cruel. Cutting budgets because of waste is proper and correct. We need to cut some, but slashing budgets by a fixed percentage is a mindless and easy way out of doing one's job.