Krugman: Mooching Off Medicaid

[ProSense]

Mooching Off Medicaid

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Conservatives like to say that their position is all about economic freedom, and hence making government’s role in general, and government spending in particular, as small as possible...When it comes to conservatives with actual power, however, there’s an alternative, more cynical view of their motivations — namely, that it’s all about comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted, about giving more to those who already have a lot. And if you want a strong piece of evidence in favor of that cynical view, look at the current state of play over Medicaid.

Some background: Medicaid, which provides health insurance to lower-income Americans, is a highly successful program that’s about to get bigger, because an expansion of Medicaid is one key piece of the Affordable Care Act, a k a Obamacare.

There is, however, a catch. Last year’s Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare also opened a loophole that lets states turn down the Medicaid expansion if they choose. And there has been a lot of tough talk from Republican governors about standing firm against the terrible, tyrannical notion of helping the uninsured.

Now, in the end most states will probably go along with the expansion because of the huge financial incentives: the federal government will pay the full cost of the expansion for the first three years, and the additional spending will benefit hospitals and doctors as well as patients. Still, some of the states grudgingly allowing the federal government to help their neediest citizens are placing a condition on this aid, insisting that it must be run through private insurance companies. And that tells you a lot about what conservative politicians really want.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/opinion/krugman-mooching-off-medicare.html

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[frazzled]

2. This is like running student loans through private banks

Or paying Medicare Advantage plans extra dough for nothing.

Obama got rid of both those backdoor government payments to private businesses, which were adding no advantage to recipients. He cut out these middlemen.

Now the Rick Scotts want to insinuate new players in the field to mooch off the government. Money to students or poor people: bad. Money to insurers or banks: good. Arghhhh.

[ProSense]

3. Yup!

With any luck, Floridians will send Scott packing.

[Scuba]

4. And then there's Squat Wanker, boosting his Teabagger credentials by refusing the money ...

... and letting the citizens of the State he serves (yeah, sure) suffer.