Good Friday 2013
Who told you that it is necessary to destroy Medicaid in order to save it? See the article posted here on Monday, March 25, 2013, "White House Aide Revisits Medicaid, ACA: Vouchers By Another Name".
Other adventures in Medicaid dismantling have already begun. In Tennessee, being among the first to make a telephone call to the Tennessee Department of Human Resources may allow Tennesseeans to enroll in Medicaid in that State. However, if they do not dial quickly, they lose. See "Just When I Thought I Had Seen Everything, Dialing for Coverage" posted on March 26, 2013 on HealthLaw Prof Blog. See, in addition, Ankita Rao, "Tight Medicaid Eligibility Leads to More Adults Delaying Care," posted on Capsules The Kaiser Health News Blog on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.
At the same time, the Governor of Tennessee and the Department of Health and Human Services have weighed in on dismantling Medicaid, in addition to restricting access to it. The Governor is the more explicit of the two, saying that he will not recommend the expansion of Medicaid for Tennesseeans until he is told by HHS that it will allow the use of Federal Taxpayers' Medicaid funds to be payed to commercial health insurance companies, rather than being used as authorized for Medicaid. One of the guarantees that the Tennessee governor reportedly is demanding from HHS is that the indigent persons who receive Medicaid shall pay for it, "if they can afford to." See Abby Goodnough, "Governor of Tennessee Joins Peers Refusing Medicaid Plan" (New York Times Online, posted Wednesday, March 27, 2013).
Memo to the governor: Medicaid is a program for poor people. If they could afford to pay for Health Insurance Coverage, they would not qualify for Medicaid.
In the meantime, "HHS has signaled it is willing to consider proposals by governors to use Medicaid dollars to buy private plans for residents as an alternative to forgoing the funds altogether and leaving those people uninsured." Louise Radnofsky, "Tennessee Holds Off On Medicaid Expansion" p. A4, col. 2 (Wall Street Journal, Thursday, March 28, 2013), subscription required by the Wall Street Journal in order to obtain Online access.
During the Vietnam War, an anonymous Army officer famously remarked that "It was necessary to destroy the village in order to save it."
Now, some State and Federal officials and White House aides are similarly remarking, for all intents and purposes, that it is necessary to destroy Medicaid in order to save it.
Please Read The Disclaimer.