“Whereas Obamacare requires states to open their Medicaid programs to families of four earning $31,000 (138 percent of the federal poverty level), Daniels expanded Indiana’s Medicaid program to families of four earning $44,000 (200 percent of poverty),” Cannon notes. “From 2008 to 2010, Indiana’s Medicaid enrollment spiked: Adult enrollments grew 21 percent, a rate nearly double the national average. By 2010, Daniels had enrolled another 62,000 Hoosiers in government-run health care.” And how’d he pay for this? A cigarette tax.I don't understand this. Improving health care access is a bad thing? Why do so many people in the GOP go out of their way to be cruel to others? Why have conservatives flocked to Chris Christie, even though he is pretty moderate? My guess is because he sounds like a jerk, and treats people who Republicans don't like with disrespect.
But it wasn’t just a straight expansion, as Cannon explains. Daniels “offers high-deductible coverage combined with a taxpayer-funded health savings account, whereas Obamacare simply expands traditional Medicaid with its notoriously lousy access to care.” And how do Hoosiers like it? The numbers speak for themselves: “94 percent of HIP enrollees are satisfied with the program....HIP enjoys a much higher retention rate than the regular Medicaid program...[and] HIP’s waiting list is now 50,000 Hoosiers long.”
There’s just one thing that’s a bit weird: Cannon’s piece is an attack on Daniels. It’s entitled “Mitch Daniels’s Obamacare problem” and concludes that in trying to make government health care work better for his constituents, Daniels has done too much to legitimize government health care in the eyes of conservatives and libertarians. It’s as telling a look on the way the right is currently approaching health-care reform as you’ll find, and I recommend reading it in full.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Why the GOP is dysfunctional
Ezra Klein quoting from National Review and adding a little commentary:
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Daniels has created a program (with a high deductible) to provide government funded health care to a large number of his constituents. Bexar County (San Antonio) has a public health program (requiring active patient participation) that has lowered emergency room use by 20%. Solutions to the inept US health system exist, but we need to debate and enact the solutions in a mature manner.
ReplyDeleteHowever, death panels and access fear makes for better sound bytes then demonstrating a real improvement in the funding and access to health care. During my recent studies I came across popular opinion that Canadians are dying because of lack of access and are flooding across the border. However true research demonstrates that Canadians are healthier and only use US hospitals for certain specialized equipment or proceedures. Not every hospital can afford to keep a PET scanner (for example) for the two patients they will see a year and the referral to larger hospitals is common in the US and Canada.
Good points. I am glad that the hospitals in Saskatchewan are pretty good. I'd hate for you to have to run across the border into Montana to get treatment. The next Republican President wouldn't like that a bit.
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