BOHICA: A Medicaid expansion “deal” !!!

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The drive-by media is excited. So are all the folks in and out of government who have their hands in the tax-dollar trough.  Uncle Phil and Speaker Timmy have reached a “deal” on Medicaid expansion.

Republican voters did not ask for this. Hospitals, drug companies, and insurance companies DID.  The concerns raised by that trio outweigh ours exponentially.  They’re putting much more cash in politician pockets than we are.

The “deal” still has to be voted on.  When that happens, we’ll get a crystal-clear idea of who still listens to the folks back home, and who jumps when Uncle Phil and Speaker Timmy say JUMP. 

It’s so *comforting* to know that — despite the fact we all elect our own legislators — the final call on everything in Raleigh comes down to TWO GUYS.

The deal DOES include phasing out certificates of need — state permits required by all health care providers seeking to expand their offerings.  It’s unlikely that the hospital lobby will allow that to be in the final, approved bill.  CONs have helped big corporate hospitals maintain monopolistic strangleholds on certain regions of the state.  With CONs, there is very little to no incentive to maintain competitive pricing for services. 

Including CON reform is an example of a nice trick that is frequently performed in DC and the various state capitals.  Include something desirable in a controversial piece of legislation.  If folks want to see the desirable part become law, they have to vote for the whole smelly  kit-and-kaboodle.

Proponents of expansion are telling us what a great deal we’re getting because the feds are paying for 90 percent of this.  Do they think we’re clueless about where the feds get their money?  We’re actually paying for ALL OF IT.

The federal government is broker than broke.  It is operating off of fumes and Monopoly money. They could stop paying for their share of the expansion, and Raleigh gets stuck paying for it ALL.  Or cutting Medicaid spending.  And who has the guts to face that political firestorm?

There has been talk that the feds will only cover the first three years of the expansion.  Then, it will be ALL OURS. 

Medicaid expansion also puts more money in the pot to finance pediatric sex change procedures.  UNC and ECU are already doing those procedures big-time — marketing them to kids as young as FOUR and making a fortune. 

The courageous, conservative thing would be to pass reforms that make health care more affordable.  Much of the cost we’re choking on now is tied to government regulation. Unfortunately, there is very little conservative or courageous in Raleigh here at the tail-end of the *glorious* “conservative revolution.”