Medicaid (AHCCCS) is the perfect example of a good program ruined by misguided activists pushing harmful agendas. Medicaid was originally designed for catastrophic conditions, tragic injuries, and the tiny percentage of people with absolutely no other option. Had Medicaid been left to its founding, we would have lots of money for transplant patients, and we wouldn't need heavy-duty chainsaw cuts in education and other areas to balance the Arizona budget.
Doubters are forewarned that I am an expert on Medicaid's original objective. My brother Charles, born in March 1962, was diagnosed with a heart murmur upon his entry into Head Start (now Kindergarten) in 1967. Charles' life was doomed to medical risk, since our poor family couldn't even think of paying for the expensive corrective surgery.
Fortunately, the Health Department informed my mother that a new program called Medicaid would cover monitoring - and surgery when Charles was old enough - but applied only to his heart condition, not his routine illnesses or injuries. Furthermore, Medicaid wouldn't cover any other family members, even though our income was below the federal poverty level.
When Charles was about 12, he went to Jackson, Miss., where surgeons got out the surgical saw, hammer and chisel, opened his chest and repaired his heart. He recently turned a robust 49.
Mississippi authorities weren't heartless or cruel. They were merely financial realists. Over half of us Mississippians had income below the federal poverty level, and I doubt 10 percent were at 1.33 of the poverty level. By Arizona standards today, at least 80 percent of Mississippi residents would have been on Medicaid in the 1960s and 1970s. Therefore, Mississippi used tough means testing for eligibility. This ensured those truly needing Medicaid always got it, and those who had any other alternative didn't. How did Mississippians do under these rules? Well, Charles is the youngest in our family, and his six siblings have lived long lives - just as our hundreds of extended family and friends have.
The point is Arizona can, and must, return AHCCCS to its original intent. First to go has to be all childless adults without catastrophic conditions. Next, we must implement strict means testing which requires people to place medical insurance as their first priority, not after all the other things they desire. We should reduce AHCCCS recipients to five percent of the population, or less. Doing otherwise forces us to gut our education funding, decrease the knowledge level of our population, and make our state unattractive to desirable employers.
The media and groups who oppose deep cuts in either AHCCCS or education are ignoring reality. Taxpayers cannot fund both anywhere near current levels, and Arizona must eliminate its structural budget deficit for fiscal and economic stability.
Fred L. Pinkney, Gilbert
Dale Whiting posted at 8:50 am on Fri, Apr 8, 2011.
Fred,
It was our conservative Arizona politicians who decided to take AHCCCS well beyond its original purposes. Thank you Arizona neo-cons.
Accuracy posted at 11:59 am on Fri, Apr 8, 2011.
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) is the state's version of Medicaid. For beneficiaries, the state of Arizona became health insurance plan for many at the taxpayers’ expense. Medicaid, via the state’s AHCCCS program is one of Arizona’s costliest burdens.
The major goal of "ObamaCare" is massive expansion of Medicaid. All Medicaid programs are a joint program between the state and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). States reported an average increase in Medicaid spending of 8.8 percent across all states in fiscal year 2010, the highest rate of growth in eight years and well above their original projections.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer unveiled a bold plan to both salvage Arizona’s Medicaid program and institute permanent reforms to drive down costs. Gov. Jan Brewer on Thursday, April 7, announced that she had signed the budget package . . calling the plan a milestone on the road to recovery. The budget cuts $500 million from AHCCCS, and with the budget now signed into law, that coverage has reinstated the transplant program. That should put 96 people who need bone-marrow and lung transplants, among others, back under state coverage for now.
Richka posted at 1:14 pm on Fri, Apr 8, 2011.
I agree with Mr. Prinkney 100%. As a former Medicaid case worker, I know first hand how this program has been misused and abused. Most of my case load consisted of foreign pregnant women that were getting "emergency medicaid" due to their pregnancy. They were covered for the duration of their pregnancy plus for 2 months after delivery of the baby. The baby then is automatically covered under Medicaid for one year along with additonal benenfits such as food stamps, cash welfare, WIC, housing assistance and later a free education. The majority of my "clients" returned year after year with the same results. I can also tell you that many american citizens fell through the cracks by being barely over the income guide lines. I have absolutely no problem with providing REAL emergency services to non-citizen people, but I fail to see where a pregnancy could be considered an emergency. The hospitals should treat illegal aliens in case of an emergency and follow up with turning them over to ICE. Tax payer funded programs, such as Medicaid, should only be available for the american citizens who's taxes paid for the program to start with.
VofReason posted at 1:37 pm on Fri, Apr 8, 2011.
Ouch. Nice work Richka, but your truth may be a little too close to the bone for some of the crazies. They like it better when responsible cuts that force people to be responsible for themselves is evil and the work of the devilish GOP.
Richka posted at 2:05 pm on Fri, Apr 8, 2011.
@VofReason....It's an "ouch" that many american feel right now. It's not just illegals that are allowed to fleece our medicaid program and enjoy our social services. There are also those americans that have lived off the tax payers for generations. During the years I worked as case worker, I have insuted many of them by suggesting that they might want to find a job. BTW...I'm neiter democrat or republican....just someone that is fed up with the status quo and is not exactly "politically correct" in some people's eyes.
Slabside posted at 6:49 pm on Fri, Apr 8, 2011.
"It was our conservative Arizona politicians who decided to take AHCCCS well beyond its original purposes. Thank you Arizona neo-cons."
Quite the typical liberal spin. It was expanded by Arizona voters in 2000.
Cerulean posted at 8:42 am on Sat, Apr 9, 2011.
Fred,
Your “misguided activists pushing harmful agendas” were Republicans who recognized a problem and realized a decent solution. State officials have been actively trying to increase the number of participants in AHCCCS since the early 1990’s, and for good reason.
Read this report: http://www.urban.org/publications/309274.html
It is true that in 2000 65% of Arizona voters approved proposition 204 that increased AHCCCS to include people who are low income “childless adults”. The reason we did so is because the State perceived a windfall from a tobacco settlement and :
“ The federal government pays about 66% of the program costs.1 This means for every dollar the State of Arizona provides, we draw down two from the federal government. “ http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/publications-reports/azs-fiscal-crisis-ahcccs-bed-tax-coming
The Governess has decided that the State cannot afford ‘childless adults’ anymore. She is willing to spend thousands in court battles to save a few hundred million until 2014 when the full Affordable Care Act goes into effect and , once again, the State will be required to cover ‘anyone’ who falls below 133% of FPL (federal poverty level) .