This 32-Year-Old FL Woman Died Because Republicans Refused Medicaid Expansion

[napkinz]

April 9, 2014
by Erica King





In an industrialized first world country, people shouldn’t just fall over and die from a condition that could have been treated if the person had health insurance. It happens every single day in this country, and it’s exactly what happened to Charlene Dill who fell on a stranger’s floor at the end of March and died.

This 32-year-old mother of three was trying to sell a vacuum cleaner when she died, one of her three jobs she worked in order to financially support her family. Dill died due to a treatable heart condition she had but could never receive care because she could not afford insurance.

Dill should have been able to access to a public health plan since the law expanded Medicaid, but since she was a Florida resident, she was denied. Florida refuses to accept the Medicaid expansion through Obamacare, so many low-income people living in Florida are still uninsured and are dying because of it.

Rick Scott, Governor of Florida, once supported the Medicaid expansion but has since revoked that stance. Republicans have no intention of even voting on the Medicaid expansion for the state of Florida, even though this state has one of the highest rates of uninsured citizens.

The issue that these residents are faced with is the result of a coverage gap: they make too much money to be considered for a public Medicaid plan but don’t make enough to buy a plan on Obamacare. Clearly the Republicans' solution for this coverage gap is to just let them die.

Charlene Dill only made $9,000 a year and was working three jobs. She even tried applying for Obamacare but was denied due to her “high income.” This is a perfect example as to why Florida needs to expand the Medicaid plan, but the Republican Party, once again, is ignoring the issue.

read more: http://aattp.org/this-32-year-old-fl-woman-died-because-republicans-refused-medicaid-expansion/

[napkinz]

1. GOP DEATH PANELS!

Last edited Fri Apr 11, 2014, 05:04 PM - Edit history (1)

[GeorgeGist]

2. Just a pothole on the road to Dystopia.

Thanks John Roberts and Republicans.

[napkinz]

6. Killing America: Rate of Uninsured FIFTY PERCENT Higher in GOP-Controlled Red States

April 8, 2014
by David Jett

Remember all that Republican talk about death panels in the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? Turns out they were right, but what they didn’t mention is that their own party is the death panel.

-snip-

For one aspect of the law, the Medicaid expansion, the Supreme Court ruled that individual states could opt out without facing a penalty.

Naturally, many red states have done just that. Is it any surprise that many of those same states have uninsured rates almost fifty percent higher than those with a Medicaid expansion? 50%! A graph posted on the Moyers & Company website perfectly illustrates the disparity.

As of the first quarter of 2014, 12.4% of adults aged 18-64 are still uninsured in states that expanded Medicaid. Conversely, that number is 18.1% for the same age group in states that opted out. While there are still options for those living in states without the Medicaid expansion, it certainly takes away a major avenue to insure millions more Americans. And that’s the main goal here, get ‘em covered and get ‘em healthy, as many as possible.

So the next time you hear a conservative talking about ObamaCare death panels, tell them yes, you believe there are death panels caused by ObamaCare, but they’re being run by the GOP.

http://aattp.org/killing-america-rate-of-uninsured-fifty-percent-higher-in-gop-controlled-red-states/

[JaneyVee]

3. "PROLIFE"

[napkinz]

5. talk about MISNOMERS!

[OKNancy]

4. Something doesn't seem right in the last paragraph posted.

Charlene Dill only made $9,000 a year and was working three jobs. She even tried applying for Obamacare but was denied due to her “high income.”

This must be an incorrect statement. Her income wasn't too high, it was too low.

[enlightenment]

8. State limits for Medicaid vary.

In some states it is below $9000. Since Florida didn't accept the expanded Medicaid option, the ACA website would have only had the original state limit on which to base the decision. It looks like Florida uses a complicated and draconian method of determining both income and assets for eligibility.

The sentence is poorly constructed.

[OKNancy]

9. I thought it meant she went to healthcare.gov

and tried to sign up. She is definitely in the gap. Too much for Medicaid and not enough to buy on the exchange.
My daughter fudged her income projection by a few thousand to qualify. She quit her job to train to be a firefighter!
( after sending her to college with a degree that takes 5 years and working in IT ...)

[enlightenment]

11. It was poorly worded.

Raised my eyebrow on first read and then I had to go search out the Florida rules to clarify. She probably did go to the ACA website; it will tell you if you are eligible and give you the links to the appropriate state site (not that that would have helped her).

Best of luck to you daughter! (They do occasionally drive us mad, don't they? )

[lpbk2713]

7. Florida's Governor became a multi-Millionaire looting Medicare and Medicaid

Rick Scott is the lowest of the lowlifes. There was no money to
help Charlene because Scott helped himself to so much of it.
And this is what made the rethuglican voters love him so much.




Link: http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2014/mar/03/florida-democratic-party/rick-scott-rick-scott-oversaw-largest-medicare-fra/

[napkinz]

10. definition of ...

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Benghazi, contraception, and legal pot claim another victim!

Damn you, Obama!

[okaawhatever]

13. Let me correct an error in the article. They claim "Charlene Dill only made $9,000 a year

and was working three jobs. She even tried applying for Obamacare but was denied due to her “high income.”

That simply isn't true. There isn't an income level that is "too high" for Obamacare. Here is the situation. Medicaid eligibility is set by the state. There are a few federal guidelines, such as pregnant women and those who certain cancers must be covered but each state sets income guidelines. I remember reading an article about Texas that said that someone who made over about $3800 per year made too much to qualify for Medicaid. Obamacare provided federal funds for states who did expand their income qualifications to 133% of federal poverty level. Florida did not choose this option. Obamacare provides federal subsidies for those who make between poverty level and 250% of poverty level. Poverty level for a single person is about 12k per year.
She did not make "too much" for Obamacare. What happened was she made between the state maximum for medicaid coverage (if it's like Texas then about 4k per year) and the federally subsidized Obamacare level of 12k per year. Obamacare, the ACA, ruled that there would be no punishment for someone who overstated their income. Since the income was an estimate based on what someone thought they would earn in 2014, if an individual said they thought they would make 12k and received federal subsidies, the ACA wouldn't punish them if they made less than that.
So.....she didn't make 'too much" for Obamacare/ACA. She made too much for the state medicaid and since they didn't expand she fell in-between medicaid and ACA. Sadly, she didn 't get the info that the administration had ruled (once they learned about how many were falling through the income cracks) that no one would be punished for over estimating their income. If so, she could have received a silver level plan for next to nothing and been covered.

[napkinz]

14. Rick Scott, have you no shame!

http://aattp.org/economist-slams-tea-party-gov-rick-scotts-refusal-to-expand-medicaid-almost-awesome-in-its-evilness/

http://www.demonews.org/watch-gov-rick-scott-stumbles-to-explain-his-obamacare-lies/

http://aattp.org/watch-governor-rick-scott-nervously-fail-to-explain-away-obamacare-lies-video/