Coverage for all?
Published January 20, 2017
Editorial by Greensboro News-Record, January 19, 2017.
A federal judge’s order to temporarily block Gov. Roy Cooper’s bid to expand Medicaid coverage in North Carolina might effectively kill the plan.
Cooper’s best hope was that President Barack Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services would agree to the expansion before Friday. The order issued last week by U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan makes that impossible by freezing any action for two weeks — giving the Donald Trump administration the chance to say no.
State House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger went to court seeking an injunction. They oppose Medicaid expansion and contend state law denies Cooper the power to move on his own.
Moore and Berger are likely to win this battle, especially as Trump and Congress look to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which allows states to implement expanded Medicaid coverage for their residents. Thirty-one states have done so, but North Carolina under former Gov. Pat McCrory and a Republican legislature refused.
That was a costly mistake for the state, as numerous studies have projected that North Carolina could have improved the overall health and well-being of its population and benefited from additional federal health care spending. Even now, it’s unfortunate that Republican leaders remain so opposed to the opportunity to expand access to health care for an estimated 500,000 more residents.
Yet, this might be a temporary setback if President-elect Trump meets his promise to replace the ACA, or Obamacare, with better medical coverage for more people at less cost.
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump told The Washington Post in an interview published Sunday. “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.”
Neither Trump nor congressional Republicans have offered details of a replacement plan yet, but a pledge of “insurance for everybody” is, as Trump likes to say, huge. Not even Obama made such a big promise. While the ACA has covered more than 20 million Americans, millions more still lack medical insurance.
http://www.greensboro.com/opinion/n_and_r_editorials/our-opinion-coverage-for-all/article_96c4e94b-40e6-568e-af8e-59dc9d884850.html
January 20, 2017 at 8:22 am
Norm Kelly says:
'Neither Trump nor congressional Republicans have offered details of a replacement plan yet'. But there's a major question when you make comments like this. When Demoncrats were pushing Obamascare upon us, along party lines, did you make the true statement that NO ONE knew what was in it, what the details were? When Nancy Pelosi stated that they'd have to pass it to know what's in it, did you question why such a stoopid statement was made? Or, since she's also a demoncrat, you simply let it go, cuz questioning an ally is unforgivable? When the soon-to-be-ex-President lied to us all and said we could keep our plan and/or doctor, did you ask for specific details FROM THE PLAN to back up that lie? Or, because he's a (mostly) black man, did you let it go? Or, could it be that since he's also a demoncrat, you simply let it go so you wouldn't be caught questioning an ally?
When talking about our legislature's intelligent, thought-out, and correct decision NOT to take the federal bribe, your editorial says 'That was a costly mistake for the state'. Properly worded that statement would be 'that was a temporarily costly mistake...'. When 90% of 'exchange' users get a gov't subsidy (ie we pay for it), where does that money come from? And, after a limited period of time, central planners are going to start reducing the amount 'they pay' for obamascare, and states will be stuck with the bill. Where will that money come from? Simple answer, my federal taxes won't go down, but suddenly my state taxes will be forced to skyrocket! Is that a mistake? No. The mistake would have been accepting the ideological but failing scheme forced upon us by a demon-only vote.
There should be very little central planner control of whatever plan comes out to replace socialized medicine. Few regulations at the federal level. Every state must be allowed to create a plan that works for THEIR citizens. Every state must be allowed to decide whether to cover illegal aliens or not. Every state must be allowed whether sex change operations are covered or if it's an option. Every state must be allowed to decide whether maternity benefits are covered or if I get to choose. I must be allowed to buy insurance from whatever state offers me the best price for the coverage I CHOOSE!. Medical savings accounts MUST be part of the plan. Catastrophic-only plans MUST be allowed.
Most important, central planners need to be out of the health care business. Every socialist nation in the world has proven, without doubt, that socialized medicine does NOT work. Go watch the socialist Moore's documentary and you too will know how bad it really is.
