Fla. gov. (Jeb) eyes changes to state Medicaid

[truthpusher]

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/national-37/1105489441242421.xml&storylist=national

Fla. gov. eyes changes to state Medicaid

1/11/2005, 6:16 p.m. CT

By DAVID ROYSE

The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Jeb Bush outlined a plan Tuesday to link Florida's Medicaid program to private insurance companies that would set limits on health coverage.

(snip)

Bush said Florida's health care safety net for uninsured nursing home patients and the poor faced unsustainable double-digit cost increases and was in dire need of revamping.

(snip)

About 2.2 million Floridians are covered by Medicaid.

(snip)

But Bush's use of the term "defined contribution" as a method for controlling costs alarmed Karen Woodall, an advocate for low income Floridians.

"That's another way to say, 'capping the program,'" Woodall said. "It means you're going to put a limit on what people can expend on health care. What happens if an individual goes above and beyond their defined contribution?"

more:

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/national-37/1105489441242421.xml&storylist=national

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. There is something obscenely wrong when those in charge can

fuck over people less fortunate than they are and get away unscathed by their own legislation.

[leftchick]

7. It is so sad that still so many

idiot fuckhead ameriKans don't recognise when the are being screwed!
:(

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. Even sadder to see them argue in favor of their own misery.

For example, my brother in law took a major hit in the last hurricane and you know he had to pay big bucks out of his own pocket because of the deductible. It was just hilarious to see him pull the, well, it's just fortunate that nobody got killed, and really, we wouldn't have any insurance at all if we didn't have to live with high deductibles. I responded, "Well, when the insurance companies were regulated, they weren't allowed to invest frivolously, like they do now. So everytime they get caught in a stock crash, we have to make up the difference.

As for medical malpractice, I'm really waiting for him to discuss the benefits of that one. I already know what he's going to face because my mother just went through it. A doctor is going to sever an artery while attempting to reopen a badly placed stent in the heart; and that doctor will tell you to your face that he botched the operation; and all you can do is watch her die slowly as her heart fills with fluid, until she makes one major effort to get out of bed and the artery ruptures all together. And don't you think I won't throw that in his face. Because I will be sure to tell him that I'll remind his Repub wife, if she survives him, that he would not have approved a malpractice lawsuit if it happens to him.

[William Bloode]

2. Ha!

"That's another way to say, 'capping the program,'" Woodall said. "It means you're going to put a limit on what people can expend on health care. What happens if an individual goes above and beyond their defined contribution?"

They get to die lol! More compassionate conservatism for you, brought to you by the fine folks of the B.F.E.E.

[tlcandie]

3. I guess all the old folks can start wearing BLACK caps

that state nothing but "CAPPED" on em. Maybe the t-shirt can explain what to do after that such as bury me in the poor man's field or potter's field.

Poor = capped
Rich = the sky's the limit to hell with everyone else! I'm gettin' mine F U and yours!!

Nice world... /looks for flush knob

[Mika]

4. Jeezuz farking keerist

These repuke fucks need to spend time in headstocks, for their criminal ways!

[Laurab]

5. Anytime a Bush eyes anything...

You KNOW it's gonna be bad for Americans. That's all I had to see "Bush eyes..."

[driver8]

9. "Bush Eyes..." definitely bad!

I was thinking the same thing. You don't even have to read further to know that someone is about to get fucked over.

[Just Me]

6. Screw 'em and make them feel guilty about it,...just like big brother.

When it hurts, really bad, turn on Falwell & Robertson,...they'll assure you your suffering will end as the appointed GAWD-send Bushes just,...carry on with Revelations!!!

EW!!! I have to add a recent "clue" to the Revelations thingy,...read 9:11 in Revelations,...and point out that Bush is revealed in that verse. Might freak some of 'em out,...or not *LOL*.

[genieroze]

14. This?

9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/kjv/rev.htm

edited to add link

[Megahurtz]

8. OMG!!!

Here comes the corporate fraud and corruption!!!:hurts:

[ryban]

11. Link to Web Site with the Bush party-line on Medicaid reform ...

The Medicaid issue is coming to a state near you. If you're concerned about it, educate yourself on what is being proposed. Like it or not, Jeb is the leading foot soldier in this effort. If they sell it in Florida, look out New York, California and all points in between.

http://www.empoweredcare.com/index.aspx

[ryban]

12. STATEMENT BY SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER LESLEY “LES” MILLER ON GOVERNOR’S ME

Here is the statement put out by the Florida Senate Democratic Leader.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 11, 2005
CONTACT: MICHELLE HAYES 850.487.5833

STATEMENT BY SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER LESLEY “LES” MILLER ON GOVERNOR’S MEDCAID REFORM PROPOSAL

TALLAHASSEE – “The governor on Tuesday was correct when he stated that without reform, Florida’s Medicaid system will collapse under its own weight. But I’m concerned that the proposal he unveiled today may hasten that collapse.

“The press conference I attended contained vague descriptions of his vision for reforming a safety net more than 2 million Floridians depend on for basic medical care. It failed to layout specific details on how services will be provided, who will provide them, or who’s ultimately going to account for the billions in taxpayer dollars paying for this risky experiment. The script I heard on Tuesday was still in need of editing.

“With costs dramatically escalating, some kind of Medicaid reform is desperately needed. But I’m not sure that throwing out the baby with the bathwater is the way to do it. The governor still hasn’t addressed the growing trend by large, successful corporations to shift their employee health care costs onto Medicaid as a way of boosting their bottom line; he hasn’t told us how, in a state still struggling to account for the latest private contracting scandals, the private sector will be held accountable under his plan to privatize Medicaid; and he hasn’t told us how this buffet-style plan will significantly save Florida’s taxpayers any real money in the long run.

“Health care in Florida today stands at a crossroads – an intersection of corporate wealth versus people’s health. The road we choose toward true reform should not force people to sacrifice their health as private providers expand their bottom lines.”



###

[ryban]

13. Rep. Jim Davis Urges Gov. Bush to Hold Open Debate on Medicaid Reform

For Immediate Release

January 11, 2005

Contact: Diane Pratt-Heavner

[phone]

Rep. Jim Davis Urges Gov. Bush to Hold Open Debate on Medicaid Reform
Davis Offers to Co-host Medicaid Public Forum in Tampa Bay

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Jim Davis sent a letter to Governor Jeb Bush urging him to allow for a public debate on his proposal to reform Florida's Medicaid program, as well as alternative solutions to the problems facing the program.

Davis offered to co-host the first public forum in the Tampa Bay area. Congressman Davis, a member of the U.S. House Committee on Commerce and Energy, which has jurisdiction over the Medicaid program, wrote to Gov. Bush last year expressing his concerns about rumored Medicaid reforms and their impact on Florida's neediest patients.

On Friday, Gov. Bush met with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, to discuss potential reforms to Florida's Medicaid program. To enact the Medicaid reforms that Gov. Bush unveiled today, the State must ask the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive federal regulations governing Florida's Medicaid program. Once a waiver is requested, CMS must take action within 60 days.

"The Medicaid Program is of life and death importance to countless Floridians," said Congressman Davis. "Florida's Medicaid program faces great challenges in the future which must be addressed, but before the Governor takes steps to dramatically reform the program, I hope he will include Floridians in the decision-making process."