Did I mention that my neighbor, the one who was evicted, also has gall bladder disease and looked pretty yellow yesterday? Yes, making her get some imaginary job will really benefit society. Uh huh. God, I despise this punitive streak in people:
In announcing his plan, Corbett argued Medicaid is intended to cover only the most vulnerable, and Pennsylvania’s version is bloated with unneeded benefits.
He said he refuses to add more people to Medicaid, and he won’t use Obamacare funds to expand coverage unless his requested changes are allowed.
Corbett’s plan would apply to people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $15,856 for a single person and $32,499 for a family of four. That’s the same group targeted by the Medicaid expansion called for in the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
Corbett, who has been discussing Medicaid with Obama administration officials for months, expressed confidence his requests will be granted.
“If the goal is to get everybody affordable health care, this is Pennsylvania’s way of doing it,” he said.
Of work-related requirements, he said, “This is about getting Pennsylvanians back to work. This is about getting them health care, getting them independence.”
Corbett made the announcement at Harrisburg Hospital while flanked by leaders of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and the Hospital & Healthsystem Assocation of Pennsylvania, whose CEO said he “applauds” Corbett’s plan.
Corbett officials later explained that cost sharing would be based on a sliding scale, with people at the high end paying monthly premiums of $25 per month for an individual and $35 for a family, and people at the low end paying nothing.
They also said enrollees could be penalized for things like taking a minor illness to the emergency room rather than a family doctor.
Secretary of Public Welfare Beverly Mackereth said those are the same kinds of cost sharing and rules faced by most people who have health insurance through their job.
“It’s about personal responsibility, it’s about making people think before they go to the doctor,” she said.
In other words, it’s about making people die because they can’t afford the co-pay. Freedom!
Whenever I hear someone say that people receiving unemployment need to work, (or that unemployment insurance causes unemployment, etc.) I ask if they’re hiring. “Well, nooooo . . . ” they always say. “Then shut the fuck up,” I tell them.
Corbett and the Republicans are all about budgets and “big government.” “The trajectory of the federal budget is unsustainable.” That’s true. So what to do? 1) Cut spending. 2) Raise taxes. Those are the only solutions to this problem. A third option is a combination of cutting spending and raising taxes. The Republicans (1%) want to cut spending exclusively. “Read my lips. No new taxes.” The Democrats want to cut some spending and raise some taxes. Who gets hurt in all of this? That depends on whose bull is gored. The best solution is to tax the 1% out of existence and cut the military budget by half.
So if everyone were required to have unicorns in order to see a doctor, everyone would have unicorns, right?
“…flanked by leaders of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and the Hospital & Healthsystem Assocation of Pennsylvania, whose CEO said he “applauds” Corbett’s plan…”
Oh yeah. I’ll bet he applauded really loud.
Now, let me see if I’m following the logic elsewhere in this brilliant plan.
“…enrollees could be penalized for things like taking a minor illness to the emergency room…”
Uh huh. But how do you know it’s minor before you go? For example, back in early 1995 my wife developed intense flu-like symptoms. At first, she resisted seeking medical help, saying, ‘it’s just the flu’. But the next morning she said ‘we’d better go’. Turns out she had an infection of necrotizing fasciitis in her arm. That was the same disease that killed Jim Henson (of the Muppets). My wife barely pulled through – and I mean barely. When I had a chance to talk about it with one of the hospital doctors later, he said we probably got Barb to the emergency room and then admitted to the hospital maybe six hours earlier in the disease’s progress than Henson. He had no chance – as I say, Barb barely survived.
Yeah. By all means, let’s not overdo that seeking care thing.
And hey – how many people these days have no sick leave rights from their job and would be fired if they sought medical care at all? Does this great plan Corbett wants say anything about that?
Anything about preventative health measures? Information on more healthful life-styles and foods that might minimize disease in the first place?
Silly question – of course not. No wonder the CEO from the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania was clapping so hard.