Wife made a remark this AM about Obamacare and its potential ending in some states

[JPK]

Wife was reading online about how here in Florida the legislature will not accept the federal Medicaid dollars and create the health care exchange so the feds will either limit or not fund the LIPs programs for state hospitals. That's the Low Income health care money that is given to the state to distribute to local hospitals to cover the costs of treating the poor. Here in Jacksonville that amounts to 90 million dollars that the local hospital receives in financial help. The administrator said there's no way to cover a 90 million dollar loss, that's roughly 30% of their operating budget so the hospital might have to close or severely curtail services and lay off hundreds of employees. The Florida house has been intractable about accepting Obamacare. Who are our lives more in danger from? Are we more likely to die from a terrorist attack after we've spent trillions of dollars on security or are we more likely to die of a medical condition that could have been cured but for a lack of medical care? WHO ARE THE REAL TERRORISTS? They are in our state houses and in our Congress. They are the real terrorists. They will let their own citizens die while spending billions to protect and save people overseas.

[BlueJazz]

1. Your wife is one perceptive lady. I've alway had the feeling that if Obamacare was Romneycare..

....things would be a LOT different in the health care business.

[nxylas]

11. Obamacare *was* Romneycare

Although Republicans now furiously deny that Romney and the Heritage Foundation ever supported it. Airstrip One is at war with Eurasia. Airstrip One has always been at war with Eurasia.

[BlueJazz]

16. Rats! When I wrote the post I meant to say "Health care business Assessment"

Meaning of course, that the republicans would be crowing about how earth-shaking wonderful it is.

Sorry

[daleanime]

2. K&R.....

[still_one]

3. Looking at Florida and Wisconsin, and how their respective populace voted for their state officials,

what did they expect? Scott and Walker were very straight about their opposition to the ACA, and how they wouldn't expand Medicaid, though Scott went a little back and forth, in the end his thumbs were down.

The article implies that the local hospitals will not make it if the health care money given to the state to distribute to local hospitals is cut off, and though that is probable, I could also see those hospitals not treating or admitting those who do not have health insurance or cannot afford to pay.

[HereSince1628]

5. That's pretty facile dismissal of WI's purple state politics.

Walker has much less to do with WI not expanding medicaid than the legislature.

[still_one]

9. voting Feingold out, and reelecting Walker 3 times speaks volumes

[HereSince1628]

17. Feingold's 2010 loss is a non sequitur re-electing Walker is mostly not the issue

The issue is really -THE BALANCE- of the WI legislature, which recently has been run by two brothers, tea-party republicans who follow A.L.E.C. and Cato Institute boiler plate.


But with respect to Feingold and Walker...

Feingold's defeat in 2010 was because the 5-8 percent overall off-year/special election penalty caused by WI urban Dem voting patterns:urban voter participation drops in Wisconsin in off years...this is usually due to black and university/college age voters.

In 2016, the 6 year senate term brings the election back into a general election year. This -will- favor Feingold over Johnson because WI urban voters turnout in general elections.

Please note this: ALL of Walker's elections occurred in -OFF YEARS, or as the recall was...a special election.

WI is a purple state. The swing of Dem turnout really puts the screws to democrats, where in the last several gubernatorial elections, election theft has been statistically demonstrated to be occurring with a high probability. Election theft is only possible for elections that are within about 5%, turnout swing has put the off-year elections in this zone.

Common DU attitudes that dismiss WI politics mostly don't understand the most obvious basics of the problem.

[still_one]

18. Wisconsin messed up with Johnson, and probably have buyers remorse, not unlike California

Where I live and Arnold winning the recall

Not being a national election year I don't buy it.

As far as Walker I would like to think Walker is losing support among the WI populace after what his policies have been. I suspect Walker will be pursuing presidential ambitions, so he probably won't run for another term as gov

[HereSince1628]

19. No buyers remorse here. It's a purple state. Team Red loves him Team Blue not.

Team Blue can't be remorseful for buying something they didn't purchase. Dem leaning voters remain, as they have always been, unhappy with Walker and the r's agenda against public enterprises and social safety nets.

Walker is working at starving government and that is going to hurt people more as time goes on. But the legislature is aware of developing problems and already restoring funding to elementary and secondary education.

On the ground the red game maintains gratification of angry Calvinistic teaheads by exacting revenge against lazy deadbeats sucking up what they haven't earned.

If there is a pattern of revolt forming, it's way up in the northland where the major future industry--tourism can't get any development money (mostly because tourism requires environmental protection), and communities can't get road expansion that would promote tourist travel and industries which can't move product on narrow highways.

There is potential for downstate disaster from dems and republicans if the budget (which as of today is still stuck) doesn't include funds and grinds to a halt major highway and bridge projects that are now in a fairly disruptive state of affairs.

[still_one]

20. Are you saying there is no middle in WI, only team Blue and Team Red, at least that

is the impression I am getting from your post

[HereSince1628]

21. I'm not sure what middle you might be referring to...

If you can make that clear I can maybe give you an opinion.

[still_one]

22. Independent, not associated with any major political party is what I meant

[HereSince1628]

23. Impossible to say...Wisconsinites don't have to declare association with a political party

to participate in partisan elections.

Turnout in primaries is about 14% Turnout in general elections runs about 70% and 40-50% in off-year elections.

The difference between partisan elections and non-partisan is then ~35% to ~55% which would be one form of estimate of voters who vote but don't participate activities of political parties.

However, I'm of the opinion that it's pretty likely that voters here share general views with one political party and vote for the same party year after year without considering themselves partisan. Just as has been found across the rest of the US.

[still_one]

24. Appreciate the perspective, thanks

[JPK]

7. USSC decision by the end of the month

So, if the USSC decides against the ACA by the end of the month and with the LIPs money drying up, it won't matter if you have insurance through the ACA because the hospital will either close or work on a greatly reduced capacity. Also, UF Shands in Jacksonville is the only Trauma One facility in the region. It would force those severly injured to go to Gainsville or Orlando adding precious minutes to their transportation. If it closes it would not only affect the poor but those with life threatening injuries from car accidents or work injuries, etc.. So again, who are the real terrorists. What defines a terrorist? Someone with an ideological and/or religious want to kill without regard. And who in this country are you more likely to die from? The republicans, not ISIL. Statistically you are probably more likely to die from a lightening strike than a terrorist attack here in the US. Yet, thousands WILL die as a result of the terrorist actions of the republican party if they destroy the ACA. Again, who are the real terrorists and we should call them out on it every chance we get.

[appalachiablue]

13. It's a long haul from JAX to Orlando or Gainesville esp. in an emergency.

I read about Shands and have relatives in Orange Park.

[JPK]

8. Not all local hospitals...........

Just the public hospitals that rely on public funds to survive. Those hospitals are ones that receive most of their operating funds from the federal, state and local governments as well as private health insurance funds too. UF Health has a number of facilities sprinkled throughout the state. Some in poor rural areas. I had both my knee replacement surgeries at UF Shands. For a public hospital it is highly regarded nationally as one of the best hospitals regardless of its source of finances.

[pnwmom]

27. Federal law requires them to take emergency patients without regard to ability to pay.

That's why so many people were waiting for emergencies and then going to hospitals for care.

[NCTraveler]

4. The free clinic in my area has taken a big hit financially.

They are slowly recovering. I significantly upped my donation. Many of their smaller donors don't fully understand ObamaCare and assumed their donation was no longer necessary. The free clinic has seen an increase in patients over the last couple of years. These communities have such little representation. The local clinic I am affiliated with does such amazing work. I have to say that the major local hospitals have seriously kicked in. For over a decade they have been the largest funders of the free clinic. Baycare did a lot of research and found that it was more beneficial for them to fund the free clinic than to serve those members of the public at their facilities. All of the major hospitals here have found the same and they kick in. But the individual contributions were enormous. They dropped off significantly after the passage of the healthcare law.

[PearliePoo2]

6. "for profit healthcare" is not only such bullshit...

It's criminal.
It seems that's all the Re-thugs think about. How to profit and make money off of someone else's misery.
Shame on these heartless G.O.P. bastards and double shame on the ignorant electorate that put them in office.

[JayhawkSD]

12. It's not just profit...

...it's the degree of profit. If they were working as you and I do, providing health care on the basis that they would earn enough from doing to to support their families, I would have no problem with that. But health care providers charge amounts which earn them obscene levels of profit, and the can do that because they engage in all sorts of anti-competetive behavior, which corrupt laws allow them to do.

[PearliePoo2]

15. You are correct! "The degree of profit"

Being compensated for the work you do is fair and just. Gouging the public in a rigged system is not.
I put pharmaceutical and insurance companies in the same rotten category.

[JayhawkSD]

25. Pharmaceutica companies yes.

Insurance comanies, not so much. Even with the government's current mandate to mark up costs by 25% as directed in the ACA (20% margin is obtained by adding 25% to cost), insurance company profit margins are all at 15% or less the last time I checked. That was a few months ago, but I doubt they have changed much in that time.

[Fritz Walter]

10. Meanwhile, the for-profit hospitals rake it in!

...because they can.



And this includes Orange Park Medical Center, right in our own back yard. What would happen if UF Shands directed all uninsured patients to their ER?

[appalachiablue]

14. Relatives use OP Med Ctr frequently. What's happened to FL under JEB & Scott is awful.

K & R

[cantbeserious]

26. Yep - Republican Austerity Sure Is Grand

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