Scott Walker made the right decision on Medicaid expansion By Brett Healy Oct. 24, 2014 On The Issues: Burke and Walker couldnt be further apart Editorial: As Gov. Scott Walker and Mary Burke hit the home stretch, final thoughts Brett Healy: Scott Walker made the right decision on Medicaid expansion Christian Schneider: Mary Burkes John Doe attack on Scott Walker falls flat Walker ramps up campaign with start of 10-day tour of Wisconsin Walker says he injured thumb during pheasant hunt For the first time in Wisconsins history, every single person living in poverty has access to health care coverage through BadgerCare, the states Medicaid plan. In fact, every single person in Wisconsin has access to some type of affordable care — according to the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation — whether it is from BadgerCare, a private insurance plan through an employer or the federal health care exchange. While some say that Wisconsin should have accepted the free federal money to expand Medicaid coverage, Gov. Scott Walker made the right decision when he rejected this false promise and instead focused on making our current program better while working to move more Wisconsinites to private coverage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AND THINK ABOUT THIS; Socialized Medicine, such as Medicaid and Medicare is not a granted power or spending item allowed in The Constitution. If Wisconsin taxpayers got to keep all of their withholding taxes, employment taxes, matching employer taxes and Income Taxes their weekly paychecks would be nearly double their current size. Then Wisconsinites and/or their companies could afford to purchase the best health insurance on the market. Or, pay outright for most typical health expenses, which would drive the cost of healthcare down dramatically due to competition among healthcare providers vying for patients/customers. Walker did the RIGHT THING and at the same time made a decision based on the RULE of our Ninth and TENTH Amendment laws in our Constitution. I only wish Walker would follow our Ninth and TENTH Amendment laws in all State legislative measures, especially being interested in passing our State of Wisconsin Joint Sovereignty Resolution with Arrest Provision, so that all Wisconsinite weekly paychecks could be nearly doubled in size by eliminating all UNLAWFUL, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, Federal Income Taxes. The members of SOLIDARITY for Ninth and TENTH Amendments COALITION support Scott Walker for his TENTH Amendment CONSTITUTIONAL STAND on this issue. Thank You Scott Walker ! Now Please support our State of Wisconsin Joint Sovereignty Resolution with Arrest Provision, which restores the RULE of our Constitutional laws upon our elected Republican and Democrat usurpers so that our Wisconsin families can afford healthcare, double the size of our economy, jobs and OH SO MUCH MORE. If Gov. Walker would pledge support for our bill, our organization and WI TEA Party organizations would be FULLY ENERGIZED for his campaign. - Capt. Karl -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First, there is no such thing as free money. Especially when it comes to a federal government that is nearly $18 trillion in debt. It doesnt matter what level of government is spending tax dollars, it all comes from one source, you the taxpayer. Supporters of expansion have even gone so far as to say that we have a moral obligation to accept the money. What about our moral obligation to leave the country better off for the next generation? How is it moral to drown our children and our grandchildren in a tidal wave of debt driven by unceasing spending increases? In addition to being the right decision morally, the data shows it was the correct decision. A new report from the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy and the National Center for Policy Analysis shows that Wisconsin should serve as a model to other states looking to reform their Medicaid programs while saving taxpayers money. According to the study, taxpayers will save up to $752 million through fiscal year 2017 by rejecting the federal expansion. Supporters of expanding Medicaid even argue it will improve peoples health, but that is not the case. A report by Harvard and MIT professors about Oregons Medicaid program, which thanks to a lottery system allowed for a scientific double-blind study, found that health outcomes for people on Medicaid were no better than those who were uninsured. Medicaid enrollees also face poor access to care. One-third of physicians do not accept new Medicaid patients, which is almost double the rate at which people with private insurance are denied. Expanding Medicaid would actually drive up health care costs, as well. Medicaid reimburses doctors at about half the rate (49%) of what private insurance does for primary care and at about 62% for all physician care, according to our study. If Wisconsin forced thousands of additional people onto the Medicaid rolls, when they could instead enroll in low-cost private health insurance, hospitals and physicians would have to hike up rates for patients paying out-of-pocket or with private insurance. Essentially, accepting the Medicaid expansion would cause health care costs to skyrocket even more than they already have under the Affordable Care Act. There is no doubt that others will try to twist the data to show that accepting the Medicaid expansion is a good idea, but the facts are simply not on their side. The expansion would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars more, the health of enrollees likely would not improve and health care costs would increase even more for the rest of Wisconsinites. Taxpayers should be proud of the way the Badger State handled the Medicaid expansion. Everyone in Wisconsin, for the first time, has access to affordable health care coverage, and that is why when it comes to the Medicaid expansion, Wisconsin got it right. Brett Healy is president of the John MacIver Institute in Madison.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 11:43:35 +0000
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