Broken money loop, broken future On March 6, Gov. Pat Mc- Croy signed into law North Carolina Senate Bill 4. This law clarified the state’s intent not to operate a state-run or “partnership” health benefit exchange and to reject the Affordable Care Act’s optional Medicaid expansion. The net effect of this bill is to say to the federal government, “Take your $20 billion Medicaid money over 10 years — and additional $65 million in savings to the state and approximately 2,300 new jobs that go with it — and shove it.” With this bill, they get to uphold the conservative principles that the governor and legislature righteously proclaim. So, while they are congratulating themselves on how they put it to Obama, we need to look at the reality of their action. First of all, it leaves over 500,000 low-income North Carolinians out in the cold on health care. These are the folks who can’t afford the staggering cost of private health insurance. They are most likely at or below the 133 percent of the poverty line. So, when they break a leg or get sick, where are they going to go? They are forced to seek help from the emergency rooms of hospitals where they may not be able pay for services. Thus, the state and local governments will realize higher spending for uncompensated medical care. Let’s look at this from an individual point of view, too. Did you pay any tax money to the federal government? Most of us do in one way or another. For these tax payments, we are entitled to services. That’s how government works. But the governor and legislature in Raleigh have cut us off from what we are entitled to under the Affordable Care Act. Think about it. This is not some government boondoggle, not a handout, not a gimmie. That’s our money, right out of our paychecks and bank accounts. The governor and legislature, in all their perverse wisdom, have said that they are just going to ignore all that money and the benefits that would come to North Carolina. What is clear is that in their animosity toward Washington, the Raleigh administration is prepared to sacrifice the wellbeing of the state. How conservative is that? Eudema Greene Alarka Rick Bryson Bryson City
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:08:47 +0000
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