Medicaid Block Grants and Citizens United Will Be the Death--Literally---Of Trump's America
Get ready, Trump supporters. You are about to see your income plunge, your medical (and legal)expenses rise and your family torn apart. By the man who claimed he would improve upon the Affordable Care Act. How will it happen?
Medicaid Block Grants and Citizens United.
Why does the GOP have such a hard on for "Medicaid block grants"? The same young women will need obstetric care, the same old people will need nursing home care, the same indigent-due-to-chronic-illness patients will need ongoing medical care so that they do not die in the streets where Baron Trump might see them and get nightmares from the experience---
But that is common sense. Forget common sense. In the world of the GOP, health care spending is not intended to keep human/people healthy. Health care spending exists to keep corporation/people healthy. Indeed, all public spending is intended to enrich the already rich---call it a Poor Tax, except that in the United States the lower 99% are considered "poor" and therefore expendable.
Give states like Alabama a big chunk of cash and tell them "Spend this the way you want" and lobbyists will immediately line up at the door of the state's (GOP) officials handing out money in exchange for even larger amounts of public money.
Here is Medicaid spending as it is now.
http://kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/distribution-of-medicaid-spending-by-service/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
How will that change under block grants? Here is a list of spending by health care lobbyists by industry:
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/top-20-healthcare-lobbyists-by-spending.html
Number one (no surprise) is the American Medical Association. Yes, doctors will continue to get paid--or no one will make any money from Medicaid because they control the prescription pads. Now scroll on down the list. Note that Big Pharm spends a lot more lobbying each year than doctors, if you lump all the companies together. Big Pharm hates Medicaid at the moment because it negotiates for lower prices. Combine Citizens United with Medicaid Block Grants, and suddenly a much larger chunk of our health care spending will go towards paying for $700 Epipens. Leaving less for pregnant women's prenatal care and Grandma's nursing home--two things which Trump's base rely upon.
Health insurers spend a lot on lobbying, too. If red states get Medicaid Block Grants, a big chunk of money will go to insurers for "administrative expenses"--which is code for "doing nothing." Corporate welfare.
Hospitals are on the list. They want to get paid for emergency room care. They will gladly fork over Citizens United money to Republican legislators.
Note who does not have a lobbyist. Your daughter, Darlene, pregnant, uninsured, because she did not think she needed insurance--until the pregnancy test said "positive.". Your mother who went to the nursing home after her stroke. Your son who suffers from bipolar disorder. If the Republicans have their way, your grandchild will be born two months early with cerebral palsy, your wife will have to quit work to stay home with your mother---plunging your family into poverty----and your son will be receiving his health care in prison when he runs out of meds and does something crazy to the neighbor's thirteen year old daughter. The neighbor's girl won't have to worry about obstetrical care, because you'll be paying for that---and child support---in order to get the law to be lenient with your boy. Who wouldn't be in this mess if Alabama had not cut off his psychiatric benefits and sent the money to the U.K. to pay for overpriced Epipens.
Meanwhile, blue states will continue to allocate resources where they are needed, because Democratic elected officials answer to Democratic votes. Blue state daughters will have healthy babies, blue state grannies will have nursing home care, and blue state sons with mental illness will stay on their meds and out of jail. And (because some things never change) in two years, your local Republican politician will get on television and tell you that the reason you are poor, looking after an elderly parent and a disabled grandchild and visiting your son in jail on the weekends is because some (non white) Washington Fat Cat stole your (white) legacy.
What was that? You thought "Medicaid Block Grants" meant that your state would spend money on health care only on white people? Silly rabbit. Your Republican legislator wants you to be poor, hopeless and angry. Only a poor, hopeless, angry person would fall for Trump's lies.
Better luck in your next life.
= new reply since forum marked as read
The 2nd link is the same as the first.
I think you meant to link to a different document.
