"...found that a bigger obstacle were the kind of paperwork issues that bedeviled Corporal and Seaborn, and that can be even tougher for the people who need Medicaid the most."
The corporate term of art for this is "sludge," and it's a feature, not a bug, to them. By making it difficult to impossible to navigate the hopes through which you are forced to jump, they assume many people will give up and suffer. That means more profits/budget savings, and for corporate America, that is a good thing. Until Agent Orange defoliated American morality, sludge was a bad thing for government America. That is changing rapidly.
The work requirements are intended to kick people off in a while that allows Republicans to weasel their way around saying they’re not cutting Medicaid.
The DCCC should start running ads on it now both because they’ll be so much to talk about at the midterms and as a warning to Republican Senators.
These people do not care about the saving and preservation of American lives. Not at all. Is there an outlet that is keeping track of the body count of this administration???
I think Republicans would say both states achieved their goal: getting people off Medicaid, spending less money on the disadvantaged. To assume either of these state governments cared about the health of those who can’t afford insurance or healthcare is an innocent fantasy. And certainly today’s GOP is Robin Hood reversed.
Here's what's so colossally stupid about refusing medical care for people. Unless you are literally willing to allow people to die in the gutters, putting people in a position where they can't get medical care until they land up in the hospital with a critical condition is more expensive in the long-term. So even if you only care about the cost, it costs society less to keep people healthy.
Folks don't understand that medical care and insurance are socialized. We spread the risks and costs across the population. I've worked in hospitals and an Air Ambulance. Nearly half of all charges remain unpaid, and providers then increase charges. Working for benefits at a large oil company, we were self-insured. The shock for employees was that the company paid the bills, not insurance. The last bill for sick people is shocking. Keeping people well is the only solution.
Is that Trump in the accompanying picture or a wax figure? Pretty scary looking, but the wax version would probably do a better job running the country.
The only "good" thing could be a wave of angry backlash flooding over the 2026 elections. 2026. The work requirements may not be fully in force by then, but various other cuts will have been for a while. Such as the loss of Medicaid supplements to poverty level Medicare recipients, states having to bear more of the costs, rural hospitals closing, nursing homes under the gun. There will be a lot to be mighty angry about.
I do not feel good about those horrible things at all. But perhaps just like the punishing, painful tariffs- coming soon to a store near you- maybe this Medicaid fiasco will send a few of these small hearted officeholders back where they came from. I'm not sure how many of their home states will hold a welcome home parade. Particularly red states with lots of voters who depend on Medicaid. Now wondering what kind of jerk they voted for.
How shocked am I that Republicans are determined to implement an evidence-free policy that seeks to punish poor people and will, in the long run, certainly cost the nation far more than it would cost to simply provide poor folks health insurance? Well, I'm not shocked even the tiniest little bit. After all, the same crowd has been promising the benefits of tax cuts for the wealthy and trickle-down economics for almost 50 years, with zero evidence to support their policies.
Fantasy-based economic and social policy is part and parcel of the Republican mind-set. The effectiveness of any policy matters not at all when self-dealing is your only lodestar and demagoguery is your only currency.
Just to add to the problems already listed, think about the impact to people who don't need frequent doctor or hospital visits but do need prescriptions. Medication makes a huge difference in quality of life, especially in the area of mental health. And getting medication without health insurance is a nightmare I don't even want to think about.
If Congress does to Medicaid what they plan it's going to be a nightmare! Once again they want to get rid of it but have NO CREDIBLE replacement services to help people who actually need help. I don't know what they can do about "fraud" because there are always nefarious clinics that like to gauge! I don't have a whole lot of hope for us in the future given what we have running the country at present!
Putting aside the obvious moral or ethical implications, republicans should start thinking of health care access and insurance as an investment in human capital.
This is not new by the way. The poor and working poor are often barely able to keep a car and a home - and unless they live in a town with great transit, every day is a struggle. I am now a retiree and over the last 20 years of my working life I was comfortable. but I remember my 20s when if my car needed to be fixed, i went begging for rides. Also often had less than $3 in my checking account at payday.
I try not to forget my early years as a live now debt free with money in the bank.
Why are American citizens not seeing that Medicare For All is at least a starting solution? Health care is a human right.
"...found that a bigger obstacle were the kind of paperwork issues that bedeviled Corporal and Seaborn, and that can be even tougher for the people who need Medicaid the most."
The corporate term of art for this is "sludge," and it's a feature, not a bug, to them. By making it difficult to impossible to navigate the hopes through which you are forced to jump, they assume many people will give up and suffer. That means more profits/budget savings, and for corporate America, that is a good thing. Until Agent Orange defoliated American morality, sludge was a bad thing for government America. That is changing rapidly.
The work requirements are intended to kick people off in a while that allows Republicans to weasel their way around saying they’re not cutting Medicaid.
The DCCC should start running ads on it now both because they’ll be so much to talk about at the midterms and as a warning to Republican Senators.
These people do not care about the saving and preservation of American lives. Not at all. Is there an outlet that is keeping track of the body count of this administration???
I think Republicans would say both states achieved their goal: getting people off Medicaid, spending less money on the disadvantaged. To assume either of these state governments cared about the health of those who can’t afford insurance or healthcare is an innocent fantasy. And certainly today’s GOP is Robin Hood reversed.
Here's what's so colossally stupid about refusing medical care for people. Unless you are literally willing to allow people to die in the gutters, putting people in a position where they can't get medical care until they land up in the hospital with a critical condition is more expensive in the long-term. So even if you only care about the cost, it costs society less to keep people healthy.
Folks don't understand that medical care and insurance are socialized. We spread the risks and costs across the population. I've worked in hospitals and an Air Ambulance. Nearly half of all charges remain unpaid, and providers then increase charges. Working for benefits at a large oil company, we were self-insured. The shock for employees was that the company paid the bills, not insurance. The last bill for sick people is shocking. Keeping people well is the only solution.
Is that Trump in the accompanying picture or a wax figure? Pretty scary looking, but the wax version would probably do a better job running the country.
The only "good" thing could be a wave of angry backlash flooding over the 2026 elections. 2026. The work requirements may not be fully in force by then, but various other cuts will have been for a while. Such as the loss of Medicaid supplements to poverty level Medicare recipients, states having to bear more of the costs, rural hospitals closing, nursing homes under the gun. There will be a lot to be mighty angry about.
I do not feel good about those horrible things at all. But perhaps just like the punishing, painful tariffs- coming soon to a store near you- maybe this Medicaid fiasco will send a few of these small hearted officeholders back where they came from. I'm not sure how many of their home states will hold a welcome home parade. Particularly red states with lots of voters who depend on Medicaid. Now wondering what kind of jerk they voted for.
What would it take to impeach RFK? Is gross incompetence grounds for impeachment…an actual danger to public health?
With all of the trumpublicans, the cruelty is the point. All dear leader knows is punching down, like the bully he is.
How shocked am I that Republicans are determined to implement an evidence-free policy that seeks to punish poor people and will, in the long run, certainly cost the nation far more than it would cost to simply provide poor folks health insurance? Well, I'm not shocked even the tiniest little bit. After all, the same crowd has been promising the benefits of tax cuts for the wealthy and trickle-down economics for almost 50 years, with zero evidence to support their policies.
Fantasy-based economic and social policy is part and parcel of the Republican mind-set. The effectiveness of any policy matters not at all when self-dealing is your only lodestar and demagoguery is your only currency.
Just to add to the problems already listed, think about the impact to people who don't need frequent doctor or hospital visits but do need prescriptions. Medication makes a huge difference in quality of life, especially in the area of mental health. And getting medication without health insurance is a nightmare I don't even want to think about.
If Congress does to Medicaid what they plan it's going to be a nightmare! Once again they want to get rid of it but have NO CREDIBLE replacement services to help people who actually need help. I don't know what they can do about "fraud" because there are always nefarious clinics that like to gauge! I don't have a whole lot of hope for us in the future given what we have running the country at present!
Putting aside the obvious moral or ethical implications, republicans should start thinking of health care access and insurance as an investment in human capital.
Recall when Bill Clinton attempted to "redefine and refine" Welfare into Workfare?
This is not new by the way. The poor and working poor are often barely able to keep a car and a home - and unless they live in a town with great transit, every day is a struggle. I am now a retiree and over the last 20 years of my working life I was comfortable. but I remember my 20s when if my car needed to be fixed, i went begging for rides. Also often had less than $3 in my checking account at payday.
I try not to forget my early years as a live now debt free with money in the bank.
Me too