Rachel Kelin is optimistic about the future of Medicaid
States Plot to Create Medicaid Bias
By Don Flynn
WASHINGTON--Tea Party-driven conservative states are maneuvering to reform Medicaid by making deeper, discriminatory cuts than more moderate and liberal states as they all grapple to balance their budgets.
The consequences could potentially be dire for Medicaid recipients-already hard-hit by previous cuts in the program. To date, scores of hospitals nationwide have been shut down and essential health services reduced or eliminated.
Medicaid, which was created in 1965, was designed to help the poor, minorities and especially children receive unprecedented health care.
If conservative efforts are successful, health benefits would vary from state to state and create havoc in the delivery of healthcare. Many recipients would travel from one state to another, seeking a higher quality of care.
Sources said that conservative states could make eligibility and other requirements difficult for many applicants.
The maneuvering could also have a major impact on the implementation of ObamaCare, which was designed to provide care to an estimated 32 million Americans. About 24 percent of those beneficiaries are African-American.
Angry liberal pundits say that the Obama Administration is prepared to use the power of the federal government to prevent the states from being selective in providing care to the needy, many of whom are already suffering from monumental healthcare disparities, as well as from chronic conditions that are placing them...Read More
