Medicaid is a critical Government Safety Net Program – Don’t You Agree?

Did you know that 21% of Dorchester County residents receive Medicaid benefits?  Medicaid benefits are for the elderly and our children.

Don’t we have a moral obligation to ensure our elderly and children have access to healthcare?

Well, if you agree with me that this is a moral obligation, than you should vote for Democrats, not Republicans. Did you know that Gov. Nikki Haley has already asked for a decrease in Medicaid benefits?! 

The fact is Republicans think that the elderly should fund their own medical obligations. Just recently Haley literally begged Congress to block grant Medicaid at a town hall hosted by CBS this spring. Haley argued that if the federal government allocated a pre-defined amount of dollars for Medicaid, rather than providing a matching fund that keeps up with health care costs. Unless South Carolina has developed some new innovative ways of delivering health services below cost, the “flexibility” Haley’s seeking is really permission to spend less on a safety net health care program.

If you want to preserve Medicaid for you and your parents, and children that have no medical coverage – you need to vote Democratic! 

Your Governor is cutting Medicaid, and will continue to cut Medicaid until we have no safety net. That is not how I was brought up!

Medicare and Medicaid are wonderful examples of our moral principles in action!  It is the right thing to do to support our parents and children if they cannot afford healthcare — and the right way to spend our tax money!

Did you know that on April 7 Haley signed a law this spring that allows the state to cut Medicaid reimbursement rates to health providers? Haley, a former $110,000-a-year hospital fundraiser, has said doctors and hospitals must learn to live with less, just as families across the state have during and after the recent severe recession. Did I mention last time that she gave her closet aides a 30% salary increase this last year?!

All of us agree that we need a strong Medicaid program that gets the most healthcare for those eligible, including our children, as we possibly can. We understand as a moral society that no one else is going to ensure that our elderly and children get adequate healthcare. We need the most efficient and responsible Medicaid program we can muster. But the fact is that Republicans do not agree with this, and if you really listen to their rhetoric, think that everybody should provide their own healthcare, not the Government. 

How do I know this? Look at the votes in Columbia -- the fact is Republicans in Columbia continually try to minimize and even eliminate Medicaid.

Let’s look at the latest State Budget:  To close that $700 million deficit, Haley and her Health and Human Services director, Tony Keck, have proposed cutting $125 million from the state’s payments to health care providers who treat the poor and disabled in the budget year that starts July 1. By the way these cuts, health care providers say, will cost thousands of S.C. workers their jobs.  But we will talk about Job Creation, not a strong suit for Republicans, in my next blog.

Who will protect our elderly and our children that need precious healthcare?  Bottom line, if you want a strong Medicaid program, I suggest you vote Democratic in 2012!