It is budget time in Washington these days and of course, lies, misinformation, and political posturing are in the air. These people can never agree to do the right thing and they use every opportunity, always to the detriment of citizens and taxpayers, to get political equity and an edge in their favor.
And this year it is no different. Democrats, liberals, and legacy media types have been feeding the lie machine as it applies to Medicaid. Claims range from Medicaid being totally eliminated to Medicaid recipients are going to see significant cuts in coverage and lose much of their health care coverage.
Specifically, Democrats in Congress have claimed that the current Medicaid budget proposal is “the largest cut to healthcare in American history” and have insanely suggested more than once that Americans will die as a result of the current budget proposal. Of course, those propagating the lies never provide any proof to their claims, just unfounded hysterics.
And think about it, would Republicans be so stupid to eliminate the health care coverage for tens of millions of American voters? And even more inane, they would let Americans die? Seriously, think logically. This is why the Democratic party and legacy media approval ratings, as found by public opinion polls, show both entities are at historical lows when it comes to being trustworthy.
So let’s look at some different opinions on how Medicaid is not going to go away or be significantly reduced. How pregnant women, disabled citizens, etc. will still have Medicaid coverage. The first challenge to the lies comes from a local Florida Congressman of mine, Gus Bilirakis. He recently sent out a dedicated Medicaid email to his citizens to disprove the hysteria discussed above:
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Recently, my office has received inquiries regarding the legislation passed by the House, specifically regarding changes to the Medicaid program. Given the misinformation circulating, I want to ensure you have accurate information about this legislation and how it may affect Floridians.
Below are some frequently asked questions:
QUESTION: Did Republicans cut $880 billion from Medicaid?
ANSWER: No. The $880 billion number comes from the entire House Energy & Commerce Committee’s instruction to find $880 billion in savings, including other policy areas like energy, environment, and telecommunications. This portion of the bill puts an end to waste, fraud, and abuse, so that the program can work for the Americans it was designed to serve.
QUESTION: Did the Reconciliation bill cut aid to mothers, children, seniors, and people with disabilities?
ANSWER: Absolutely not. This bill strengthens and secures Medicaid for those who need it most. There are no cuts to Medicaid for mothers, children, people with disabilities, or elderly Americans. Instead, it ensures illegal immigrants, able-bodied adults choosing not to work, and people who aren’t actually qualified for Medicaid aren’t draining the already-burdened system.
QUESTION: Will tens of millions of people lose Medicaid coverage?
ANSWER: No. Prior to the final bill, liberals asked the Congressional Budget Office to score a number of policies that were not included in the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s portion of the bill, completely misrepresenting the impact of the legislation. In reality, the only Medicaid enrollees losing coverage from this bill are illegal immigrants, people who are not actually eligible for Medicaid but receiving coverage anyway, or able-bodied adults choosing not to work. Furthermore, Florida is not an expansion state – meaning – the only groups that have ever been eligible to receive Medicaid are low income seniors, children, disabled adults, pregnant women, and post-partum women. These groups are exempted from any of the changes in the reconciliation bill. This means, that in Florida, the only people who will lose coverage are illegal immigrants and people who have never actually been eligible for Medicaid. This is what we mean when we say we are eliminating fraud.
QUESTION: Are the bill’s work requirements too burdensome?
ANSWER: Able-bodied adults without dependents or co-occurring exclusions should work, pursue education/training, or perform community service in order to receive taxpayer subsidized Medicaid coverage. The following populations are exempt from work requirements: pregnant women, foster youth or former foster youth up to age 26, members of a Tribe, disabled individuals, and individuals who are a parent or caregiver of a dependent child or an individual with a disability. In Florida, able bodied adults, who don’t fall into one of the exempted categories above, have never qualified for Medicaid and thus the new requirements do not change Florida’s Medicaid eligibility.
QUESTION: Does this bill pay for tax cuts for billionaires?
ANSWER: The historic tax cuts included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) impacted every American family. It is vital that we extend TCJA and prevent Americans’ taxes from going up. But independent of the need for tax certainty, our Medicaid program is on the brink. This bill also eliminates billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse and refocuses Medicaid on those who need it most.
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There you have it, a fact based answer to the crazy theories that Democrats, liberals and legacy media types have been spreading. If you do not trust Congressman Bilirakis, then please do some research on your own to see what you can find without accepting the lies without any backup evidence.
The need in this and every future federal budget process is to eliminate wasteful and useless spending, be it stupid government programs, inefficiency within the Federal bureaucracy, or criminal fraud. The national debt is fast approaching $37,000,000,000,000 and if the brakes are not put on this out of control government spending, the country and its democracy will soon vanish.
Don’t believe Billirakis? Consider the take of Senate Majority John Thune who apparently has actually read the current budget numbers: “Medicaid was designed to serve a particular population, and what’s happened is [that] it’s evolved and morphed into this thing now that covers a lot of people that weren’t supposed to be covered in the first place, including illegals and the Medicaid expansion population. It’s really just making these programs, strengthening them, improving them, and targeting them to the people who you know Medicaid was designed to serve in the first place.”
He went on to say: “The House really honed in on the waste, fraud and abuse in the program, and the people who are benefiting from the program in a way that in for whom it wasn’t designed. That’s where your work requirements come in. And we think that’s a natural assumption that you would make.”
If that is the reality, how can anyone possibly disagree with the intent: save the program by returning the program to its roots and get rid of those that do not need it and do not deserve to be in the program, sucking up limited taxpayer dollars.
However, if you think that everyone should be allowed on the Medicaid rolls, that anyone who is able to work does not have to, that it is okay to have inefficiencies and criminal fraud in government programs, that the ballooning national debt caused by Washington politicians not able to control out of control spending is okay, then what Thune and Bilirakis have to say is not important to you. You would rather have others do your thinking for you.
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If you agree that we need to deseat every member of Congress for their lack of success and accomplishment, then please consider going to the following petition link to help the cause:
https://www.change.org/p/deseat-congress-reset-freedom
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