Patterson: Expanding Medicaid a bad idea for Arizona
Tom Patterson
East Valley resident Tom Patterson (pattersontomc@cox.net) is a retired physician and former state senator.
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chatmandu002 posted at 8:23 am on Mon, Feb 11, 2013.
You can have a little bit of pain now or a whole lot of pain later. Cut til it hurts then cut some more.
Arizona Willie posted at 8:40 am on Mon, Feb 11, 2013.
You know what's a bad idea?
Giving ultra right wingers like Patterson a free pulpit to spew their gibberish.
samkat posted at 11:01 am on Mon, Feb 11, 2013.
Actually, Tom is your primary objection because physicians would have to settle for smaller fees, thereby slowing their march to multimillionaire status?
Accuracy posted at 12:51 pm on Mon, Feb 11, 2013.
But with President Barack Obama's health care coming up – Why should Arizona expand Medicaid to cover more poor people under ObamaCare’s Medicaid reform law?
Expansion of Medicaid is one of biggest impacts of ObamaCare. Medicaid expansion was meant to cover 17 million of poorest (certain people and families with low incomes and resources), all through through ObamaCare Medicaid . . . And will possible balloon to cover as many as 84 million Americans – Something “the legislators should take a look at.”
Arizona Willie posted at 1:06 pm on Mon, Feb 11, 2013.
Brewer cut off her nose to spite her face.
She's part of the government hating right wing and she refused to go alone with Obamacare and have insurance pools set up in Arizona.
The fact that these insurance pools were made up of private for profit insurance companies either went right in one ear and out the other without touching a thing, or she just ignored it.
As a result, the Feds will now be able to set up Medicare Lite and it WILL be government run.
She sure showed that da*n Democrat.
downtownresident posted at 2:41 pm on Mon, Feb 11, 2013.
Tom,
How does this statement, "Medicaid costs have been ballooning 8 percent annually, compared to 1 to 2 percent economic growth" have ANY REVELENCE???
Are you really suggesting that health care costs be tied to economic growth??
How about doctor's income? Shoud we regulate that too???
VofReason posted at 1:16 pm on Tue, Feb 12, 2013.
These are good ideas. Let's reduce the already paltry payments Medicare and Medicaid pay to Doctors. That will show them. Again, Medicare and Medicaid pay less than any Commercial payer for the same service from a Doctor. Ask anyone in the Medical profession- Doctor or not. This is the underlying failure of Obamacare, it assumes tghey will take less. No, they will cater to the people who can pay more. See Doctors aren't stupid, they went to school for a long time and paid a king ransom to do so. They aren't going to let a Politician tell them what is up. You know that 40% of all births in AZ in 2011 were paid by the State's Medicaid program? Does that sound right? 40% of the people who had a baby couldn't afford the birth? How are they going to pay for the child? Or is that part of the Medicaid expansion scheme too. How could this go wrong?
Arizona Willie posted at 4:44 pm on Tue, Feb 12, 2013.
VofReason:You said " 40% of the people who had a baby couldn't afford the birth. "
Well that jives with the 47% whose income is so low they wind up owing 0% FIT.
Whose fault is it that these people are living on the edge of poverty or have fallen completely into poverty?
Most of them are working. Many work two jobs. But the employers don't want to pay them a living wage. No benefits. No health care. Employers pass that cost on the the State and the taxpayers.
We need a new medical law. Any employer who doesn't provide medical insurance for his employees gets the bill when they get sick. Why should taxpayers pay for his employees? " Don't want to pay for medical insurance boss? Well here's the bill for the baby my wife just had." The hospital said if you don't pay it they will put a lien on your inventory.
I suspect everyone would get insurance from their employer real fast.
Accuracy posted at 5:42 pm on Tue, Feb 12, 2013.
Arizona Willie posted: "I suspect everyone would get insurance from their employer real fast."
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President Obama's 2,572-page health care law has changed the incentives for businesses and made it less attractive to pay for insurance. The Congressional Budget Office now predicts, with ObamaCare in 2014, millions of people will be dropped from their employer's insurance plans – and will lose their employer-based health insurance coverage.
To avoid the costly mandate, some employers will push workers into part-time status, or under 40 hour work weeks. Other employers will opt for the fine.
Arizona Willie posted at 8:51 am on Wed, Feb 13, 2013.
Accuracy: this is exactly where my idea shines. If the employer doesn't want to pay for Medical Insurance for his employees then make him pay the bill when they get sick or hurt.
Then, the employer who have no good reason for laying people off or making them part time. The sensible thing to do would be to man up and give the employees medical insurance. Much cheaper than having to pay out of his own pocket.
Accuracy posted at 12:39 pm on Thu, Feb 14, 2013.
In other words, if you presently get insurance through your job, you may lose it as of Jan. 1, 2014. Because, when the new ObamaCare employer mandate kicks in, it will require employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide the government-designed health plan or pay a fine.
VofReason posted at 1:29 pm on Thu, Feb 14, 2013.
Willie, here is something that most liberal minds can wrap around, why in the world would you have a baby if you knew you couldn't afford it? So you can complain to someone that you don't make enough or don't have healthcare coverage? Common sense would say that if you allow yourself to get pregnant when you cannot afford the bith of the child you are what is called irresponsible. I know this is foriegn to liberals who think that every potential harm is inflicted on people who have know ability to make decisions for themselves, but I am here to tell you it is their fualt. Maybe not their fault that their employer doesn't pay them what they believe is fair. maybe not that they don't get health coverage. But absolutely their fualt for allowing themselves to get pregnant when they cannot afford a birth or a child.
VofReason posted at 1:30 pm on Thu, Feb 14, 2013.
Oh I know I know, it is the evil Republicans who won't make insuances cover contraceptives for everyone, but last I remember, condoms are fifty cents.
mnjcpa posted at 7:57 am on Fri, Feb 15, 2013.
VofReason - keep in mind Willie is one of those labor union people that retired in his early 50's on someone else's dime. He's my definition of the true 1%. He's ALL about anyone other than himself paying the bill and exactly what's wrong with America. Too many people like him expecting the employer to pay for their responsibility.
mnjcpa posted at 9:36 am on Fri, Feb 15, 2013.
A convenience store chain owner client of mine just sold his business. Why? It no longer makes sense to own a business and risk his own money to finance people that can barely read or write. Between Obamacare and now Obama offering up $9 an hour minimum wage, his profits have plummeted.
The money to pay these ridiculous benefits to people that can barely function in life is NOT his responsibility. Liberals like Willie just don't get it. What happened to good old take responsibility for yourself? This is why the Obama reign will be known as the destruction of the private sector. Not ONE policy offered up will do anything but a continual destruction of the US economy.
Could be it's by design.