Tag: medicaid

Opponents of Medicaid bill to rally, deliver petitions at noon on Capitol grounds

February 15, 2013 at 9:52 amCategory:Uncategorized

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From the good folks at Action NC:

Community leaders challenge McCrory to veto anti-Medicaid expansion bill
Groups say Governor, General Assembly creating huge, irreversible problems for low-income North Carolinians.

Raleigh, NC – A group of community leaders, advocates and Medicaid recipients will gather on the grounds of the state Capitol Building today at noon to call on newly-elected Governor McCrory to push back against the overreaching General Assembly and veto the bill which blocks Medicaid expansion in North Carolina.

“Not only are the Governor and the General Assembly making life needlessly difficult for low-income North Carolinians, but are also rejecting $15 billion for our economy at large,” said Kevin Rogers, Policy and Public Affairs Director for Action NC. “There is absolutely no logical reason to oppose this expansion.” Read More…

John Hood says legislators and the Governor have secret reasons to reject Obamacare

February 15, 2013 at 8:51 amCategory:Uncategorized

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It is safe to assume that John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation, has easy access to Gov. Pat McCrory and legislative leaders in Raleigh. That means he has more insight than the rest of us into what motivates Republican lawmakers. That is why I found his column today interesting.

Hood explains to the rest of us why Republicans rejected a health benefits exchange and the Medicaid expansion. Just to be technically correct, the legislature did not reject a state exchange this session. It’s too late to set up a state exchange for 2014. Instead, they decided to surrender state functions we are already performing to the federal government. Now back to the point of this post. Hood says the reason Gov. McCrory and the legislature do not want a state exchange is because they buy into a slightly wacky legal theory pushed by the Cato Institute that says in a federal exchange people can’t get subsidies and the employer and individual penalties don’t apply.

Let’s set aside the legal reasoning here. Most lawyers reject this idea, but with our current Supreme Court I don’t take anything for granted.

What is more intriguing about the column is Read More…

Veteran NC political observer: Medicaid opt-out bill is wrong

February 14, 2013 at 1:38 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Long-time North Carolina political observer and TV host, Tom Campbell has a fine column in the Winston-Salem Journal today on the folly of the health care opt-out legislation that’s receiving final approval at this hour in the House.

Here is the excellent conclusion:

“Senate Bill 4 is wrong on many levels. It was arbitrary, didn’t include all the needed stakeholders, was designed and passed without sufficient discussion and leaves far too many questions unanswered. North Carolinians gave legislative control to Republicans who promised honest, transparent and more accountable government. The Senate hasn’t lived up to that promise with Senate Bill 4. We deserve better.”

The fall of Bobby Jindal: A cautionary tale for Pat McCrory?

February 13, 2013 at 2:42 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Bobby JindalA politically insightful friend shared a rather fascinating take of the polling data surrounding Louisiana’s once-popular governor, Bobby Jindal. North Carolina’s governor might want to take notice:

“A word to the wise.  Before ending Medicaid expansion and the state’s income tax, Governor McCrory might want to check in with his buddy, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Once the most popular governor in the nation, according to Public Policy Polling, Jindal’s approval ratings have fallen dramatically—from a 58% approval rating in 2010 to 37% approval this month, including a 25% drop in support from Independents.  Read More…

Charlotte Observer: Governor and legislature making things worse

February 13, 2013 at 9:57 amCategory:Uncategorized

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The Charlotte Observer’s editorial board calls decisions by Governor Pat McCrory and the Republican-controlled legislature to reject billions in federal money counterproductive and simply wrong-headed.

Here’s the column that appears in Wednesday’s paper:

‘The legislature’s effort to save the state money is starting to cost the state a boatload of money.observer editorial

The N.C. Senate passed a bill Tuesday that overhauls the state’s system for paying benefits to unemployed workers. That needed tackling, but the way the legislature did it unnecessarily costs the state $780 million from the federal government. Lawmakers could have made all the changes they did and still receive the $780 million by delaying them for just six months.

Gov. Pat McCrory, meanwhile, said Tuesday that he does not want the federal government to pay 100 percent of health insurance costs for 500,000 poor North Carolinians. The House could vote as soon as Wednesday to pass a bill that turns down $2 billion in federal money per year for three years, and billions more in the years after that.

Um, ladies and gentlemen of the House and Senate, could you stop “saving” us so much money?

A wrong-headed fix

If McCrory signs the unemployment bill, as expected, it takes effect July 1. Republican senators defeated an amendment on party lines that would have pushed the effective date to Jan. 1. That triggers a federal law that cuts off federal benefits to 170,000 North Carolinians worth $780 million. That’s money they’d have spent on groceries, the rent or mortgage, and other basic needs. Pulling that much money out of the state’s economy can only hurt consumer spending and job creation. Read More…