Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – May 2017: The AHCA’s Proposed Changes to Health Care – Medicaid

KEY FINDINGS: The American Health Care Act (AHCA) includes substantial changes to Medicaid – the program that provides coverage for medical care and long-term care services to low-income people. Overall, six in ten Americans (58 percent) say Medicaid is either “very” or “somewhat” important for them and their family – including a majority of Democrats (64 percent) and independents (57 percent) and nearly half (46 percent) of Republicans.

No matter what political party you belong to or if you’re an independent, you should be scared regarding the bill approved by the House of Representatives. There are numerous articles that explain the differences between the House plan and Obama care and therefore, I want to mainly focus on the underlying motive for House Republicans to pass their health care plan.

We should all quit calling the plan passed by the GOP, healthcare but instead refer to it as a massive tax cut for the wealthy and a redistribution of wealth from the poorest among us, to the top 2% in this country. The GOP plan reduces Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion. Medicaid monies are utilized to pay for healthcare that the poorest people would otherwise not be able to afford. The reason for the reduction in Medicaid and dramatic reductions in the health services provided to the number of people covered is to pay for the Trump tax plan. This diversion will further give the top 2% of the wealthiest Americans substantial additional income.

The Republican Party cannot proceed with the implementation of the tax cuts without paying for them. So they are diverting money currently budgeted for the poor and what some have called the reverse Robin Hood affect. A reduction in the provisions currently included within the Obama care substantially reduces medical costs and therefore the Medicaid funds currently utilized for healthcare, can be eliminated.

R.J. Intindola

Groups opposing the American Health Care Act

Over 50 organizations oppose the proposed healthcare plan that will make Americans will pay more for less. The list includes nurses, doctors, hospitals, teachers, churches, and more. You can see a few here: AARP: AARP opposes this legislation, as introduced, that would weaken Medicare, leaving the door open to a voucher program that shifts costs and risks to seniors.

5 Things to Know About AHCA, the New House Republican Health Care Bill That Just Passed

The Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare narrowly passed the House of Representatives on Thursday, advancing a plan that would gut health coverage for millions of Americans while delivering tax cuts to the rich.

Insurance 101 For Paul Ryan: The Healthy Are Supposed To Help Pay For The Sick

Paul Ryan is aghast that healthy individuals are paying into an insurance pot that’s used when people are sick. But … that’s exactly the way insurance works. Twitter positively erupted Thursday to school Mr. Health Insurance on the concept. Everyone pays into the pot and draws on it when they’re sick.

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a strong supporter of Obamacare, said it will return many Americans to pre-Obamacare days.

“This bill would strip coverage from millions of people and drive up consumer costs. It shreds the Medicaid social safety net that serves more than 72 million people, including many children, senior citizens and people with disabilities,” said Pollack. “And it once again leaves millions of people in America with chronic illness and disease at the mercy of insurance companies.”

The new GOP health care plan looks a lot like Obamacare to some

A new Republican health care plan keeps much of the basic framework set up by Obamacare, but with a conservative twist, analysts say. But it’s full of holes, with no detail on how to pay for its provisions and no estimates at all of how much it will cost taxpayers.

Florida Governor- Rick Scott’s Record

If you pay much attention to Florida Gov., Rick Scott you probably know that the vast majority of his campaign promises have not been fulfilled. And according to various sources who study political issues, it is unlikely that most of his promises will not come to fruition.

According to the Tampa Bay times, 96% of the jobs Rick Scott promised have not been created. In a December, 2013 article, the Tampa Bay Times reported that, “The jobs outlook isn’t better in Tampa Bay, where Scott inked deals to create 7,251 jobs in exchange for $39 million in tax breaks. Jobs created to date: 462”. This is a sad commentary for those people who relied upon Scott’s promises.

Oddly, his current campaign literature and advertisements are littered with his excellent job creation record which at best, is deceitful. As a result of his efforts, few jobs in Florida have been created.

Tricky Ricky

Fact Checking Scott

If you research the various fact checking organizations, the results indicate that Florida Gov. Rick Scott, does not tell the truth approximately 60% of the time. The only other Republican candidate that came close to the 60% figure was presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.  The question one could ask is how you respect someone who can’t tell the truth. Someone who is not honest with the very people they serve. On the other hand, his opponent, Charlie Crist, Scott’s opponent has been truthful slightly over 80% of the time. Furthermore, Gov. Scott has flip-flopped on various issues, including Medicaid expansion pertaining to the Affordable Care Act.

Scott on the Affordable Care Act

Prior to even taking office, Rick Scott constantly criticized the Affordable Care Act. When he had the authority to opt out of Medicaid expansion, Scott left 1.3 million Floridians without any medical coverage. He wrongfully stated it would cost the state nearly $26 billion over the next decade and was repeatedly called to task by various fact checking and research study organizations. He later admitted after being confronted with the facts, that the real number was only 5 billion over the same time frame. More than any other politician, he has been repeatedly called out for misstatements and utilizing incorrect statistics and other information.

The article published by Think Progress http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/04/09/3424629/florida-medicaid-charlene dill/on April 9, 2014, presents a chilling story of the devastation created by Gov. Scott for not expanding Medicaid. I have culled a few of the more significant facts below taken from the article and other sources.

Florida has one of the highest number of people uninsured for medical coverage.

Nearly 1.3 million Floridians could not receive Medicaid because Gov. Rick Scott chose not to initially participate.

There are several documented cases of Florida residents dying because of Rick Scott’s decision. One case followed by the press, including the article noted above, by Think Progress involves Charlene Dill.  Dill, was a single mother of three and died in a stranger’s house trying to sell a vacuum cleaner. She had a documented heart condition for many years but was unable to receive regular medical care. With the creation of the Affordable Care Act, she hoped to receive regular treatments to stabilize her condition. She was caught in the vacuum when Gov. Rick Scott declined to accept the Medicaid expansion in the State of Florida. Her death could have been prevented had she received medical coverage under the law. Her family, friends and other people blame the governor for her death. She had three part-time jobs and barely made $9000 a year. Kathleen Voss Woolrich, Dill’s, best friend would use fundraising sites to help pay for her medication. But in the end, she used the same fundraising sites to pay for her funeral.

Until Rick Scott reversed his initial decision, approximately 300 people died each year for not having Medicaid coverage.  Until Scott changed his mind feeling the political pressure and the loss of support from hospitals and other constituents, approximately 600 people died in Florida needlessly for lack of Medicaid coverage.

V2 Cigs -stop smoking, but still smoke without all the poisons.

By Olivier Knox, Yahoo NewsApril 1, 2014 6:01 AMYahoo News

For months, the media story of how President Obama sold Obamacare to America has starred unconventional outlets like Funny or Die, unconventional pitches like this “Mom Jeans” message for Twitter, and unconventional sales reps like Kobe Bryant, Wil Wheaton, or the moms of Jonah Hill and Adam Levine.

But a look inside the Affordable Care Act’s all-out enrollment drive shows that — for all the talk about social media and unorthodox strategies — the Administration relied heavily in the final stretch on a century-old way to reach the public: Radio. More

Read:

“Obamacare has also had some important indirect consequences. According to Catherine Dower of the Center for the Health Professions at the University of California at San Francisco, since the Affordable Care Act states have become more aggressive about challenging some of the protectionist laws that prevent well-qualified medical professionals — pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, emergency medical technicians — from offering some kinds of primary care. California just passed a law that will allow pharmacists to check your blood pressure and cholesterol level and to dispense prescription birth control and anti smoking drugs. Letting pharmacists perform services that don’t require seven years of medical training makes those services cheaper and more convenient, increasing the chances consumers will take better care of themselves.” The New York Times.

Some estimate the above process will result in saving nearly twenty million dollars in health care costs. It’s shame Republican Governors are not participating. They are hurting the people in their states.