Mashburn preaches gospel truth on Medicaid expansion
It should be worth your time to follow lieutenant governor candidate Allen Mashburn (R) on YouTube. He’s one of the few major political players out there actually trying to talk to the people about the complex issues in Raleigh.
While NCGOPers all over Raleigh are collapsing and surrendering to the largest increase of state government EVER, Mashburn is marching to the beat of a different drummer. He admits covering 600,000 new people sounds great, but says proponents are leaving out the details of the potential effects expansion will have on doctor-patient relations, private insurance, the state and national economies, and future generations.
He has a great video on YouTube (10:35 long) detailing his concerns about expanding Medicaid.
Mashburn notes that expansion proponents cite “great rewards at minimal cost” associated with Medicaid expansion. He says Biden’s lockdown-era American Rescue and Recovery Act sets North Carolina’s non-federal match at five percent of total cost.
The problem? That 95-5 split with the government is good for two years, says Mashburn. After those two years, he says, state government could be looking at its non-federal share ballooning $500 million to $600 million per year.
Mashburn has some credibility on this subject matter. He says in the video he spent 20 years in the insurance industry before becoming a pastor.
Mashburn says there are some other outcomes with Medicaid expansion we need to watch out for:
Private insurance will eventually get pushed out. He talked of one family that went on ObamaCare. Their kids were transferred to Medicaid. Providers are not required to accept Medicaid. The closest specialist who was in network and could treat one of the kids was 65 miles from their home.
Doctors, facilities lose negotiation power with insurers. Mashburn notes in the video that costs get somewhat controlled thanks to this process. He notes that the federal government will have all the say in the wake of expansion:
[…] “The federal government negotiates with no one. He who has the gold makes the rules.” […]
A lot more people will find themselves and their families at the mercy of federal bureaucrats.
Biden regime’s political agenda has an easier time slithering into our and our family’s health matters. Mashburn says an expanded Medicaid presence in North Carolina will allow gender-affirming (aka “sex change”) treatments to be weaponized. Gender dysphoria cases will be “mentored” rather than “treated,” he added.
On this Jones Street rush to expand Medicaid, Mashburn asks:
“How can something that was so wrong last year and the year before suddenly be so right?”‘
Many years ago, maybe the 1960″s, when I was a teen living in Wisconsin we all loved our US Senator Bill Proxmire. Some may remember he was the one who would publish his “Golden Fleece” award for inefficiencies in government. He was so popular because he brought home the bacon for Wisconsin residents and, it was noted, that he would only spend maybe $200 on his re-election campaigns. No body would run against him.
Well many years later I realized that he was part of the cabal in DC that started raiding the Social Security Trust Fund to give generous benefits to SSA recipients and others and leaving an IOU in its place. Fast forward to today, and we find there is nothing left in the SS Trust Fund but IOU’s and cashing in those IOU’s requires deficit spending in the General Fund to cover them. But Senator Proxmire remains a fond memory in the political history of Wisconsin even today.
What does this have to do with NC Medicaid expansion? Basically history repeats itself, political history that is, where the “heroes” (supporters of the expansion) bring home the bacon, enjoy the accolades for implementing another government program that is “FREE” and secure themselves into history as ones who “help people” while passing the well concealed debt onto the next generation.
When that debt gravy train finally comes to an end they will be long gone and remembered as heroes of the good old days while the ‘future’ current NC legislature deals with fixing the mess that was created by them years before. It’s not a matter of if the mess will come but when. Those of us who strongly opposed this expansion of socialized medicine will long be forgotten probably never being able to get the chance of saying “I told you so”. But, right at the beginning of the slide into socialized medicine, it was the right thing to do.
Political history is an unfair reality. I’m glad that Mr. Mashburn is willing to get into the fray but unfortunately we live in a “free stuff sells” era where even Republicans now want to play. I urge him to stand strong against this trend because the free stuff drug is powerful and addictive. He is on the right path if he can stay there.
Thank you, Mark Brody, for pointing out the history of “heroes” and speaking the truth about this expansion. Your leadership is appreciated. Mr. Mashburn speaks the truth also about medicaid expansion and is able to identify potential problems. We need more GOP leaders and candidates speaking the truth about issues.
Mashburn makes more sense than any GOP legislator I have spoken to on this issue. We should listen to him.
Remember! Legislators who betrayed us by voting for Obamacare Medicaid expansion need primaries next year. Throw the bums O-U-T !
You are so Time on Target! I recently moved to Youngsville where RINO Matt Winslow devotes more time to his grandiose ambitions to succeed Tim Moore as Speaker than he does to the needs of his constituents. He’d better wake up fast because he will likely not run unopposed next time, and he’s got Republicans, particularly on the other side of the Franklin-Granville county line that want him gone. He voted for that Medicare expansion betrayal, and honestly, I’d vote Democrat against him and I feel like I’m drinking battery acid just to say that.
I had a chance last week to discuss with a legislator the way this was handled by the Vichy-style legislative leadership we have in Raleigh. Marshal Petain would have been proud. NC Republicans? Not so much.
There was incredible pressure put on legislators, especially in the Senate, by multiple members of the Vichy Republican “leadership”. All to support this big spending ultra-liberal Democrat policy objective for Roy Cooper. Legislators had the bills they were running threatened. They had funding for their districts threatened. They were told it did not matter that they had pledged in their campaigns to oppose Medicaid expansion. They had to vote for it anyway. They were told that it did not matter that Republican voters back home were demanding that they vote against it. They had to do what Raleigh “leadership” wanted, NOT the voters back home.
We have an absolutely outrageous situation with out of control “leadership” in Raleigh demanding that legislators abandon their principles and their constituents to be rubber stamps for the liberals masquerading as GOP leaders. How do we fix this? Maybe we need to start allowing local party organizations to endorse in primaries. That would get their attention!
Whose side are Phil Berger and Tim Moore really on? Clearly not that of Republican voters.
” Whose side are Tim Moore and Phil Berger on?” Been asking that same question for sometime myself. They certainly do NOT appear to be on the RIGHT side. I correct myself. They certainly are NOT on the RIGHT side.
I couldn’t agree more with your assessment of Allen Mashburn’s approach to politics. It’s refreshing to see a candidate who is willing to address complex issues and engage with the people on a meaningful level. I think it’s important to consider all the potential effects of expanding Medicaid, as Mashburn suggests, rather than simply focusing on the immediate benefits. However, I also wonder how we can balance the need for access to affordable healthcare with concerns about the impact on doctor-patient relations, private insurance, and the economy. Do you think there is a way to expand Medicaid in a responsible and sustainable way that addresses these concerns? Or do you believe that Medicaid expansion is fundamentally flawed and should be avoided altogether?
NC should NOT be expanding Medicaid! The Republicans are passing a lot of good bills this session; however, Medicaid expansion is not one of them. Mashburn makes a really good point when he says: “That 95-5 split with the government is good for two years, After those two years, state government could be looking at its non-federal share ballooning $500 million to $600 million per year”!