Congress postpones cuts to Medicaid program

[Judi Lynn]

Congress postpones cuts to Medicaid program
Thu Sep 8, 2005 4:20 AM BST

By Julie Rovner

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, lawmakers in Washington have shelved -- at least temporarily -- plans to reduce spending on the massive Medicaid health program for the poor.

The cuts of $10 billion were to be part of broader budget deficit-reduction legislation due September 16. But U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert told reporters that lawmakers' first priority is dealing with the immediate aftermath of the monster storm that has displaced hundreds of thousands of Americans in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

As a result, he said, "there has to be some type of delay" in drafting the budget legislation.

House leaders say they have pushed back the September 16 deadline by two weeks. The Senate was expected to announce a similar delay later on Wednesday.

But there is another reason for the delay besides the need to provide immediate relief to hurricane victims -- even some Republican lawmakers say it would be bad public relations to cut Medicaid when so many poor people were disproportionately, and visibly on national television, affected by the hurricane.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-09-08T032050Z_01_ROB811952_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-US-CONGRESS-POSTPONES-CUTS-MEDICAID-PROGR-DC.XML

[undergroundpanther]

1. FUCK THEM ALL

Godammit THEY have top of the line insurance,they live like kings, THEY have doctors TWIPPING thier bills,THEY have people hired to do thier insurance paperwork..they don't even got to go to work until 11 am and it's not even ALL YEAR!!!

CUT THE MEDICAL BENNIES and CUT PAY FOR THESE TOO WELL FED,TOO SELF ABSORBED,INSANELY NARCISSISTIC,OBSCENELY GREEDY,oblvious,selfish ASS PIGS in this government..ASSHOLES who would make the poor starve and die rather than give up ANYTHING about thier decadent lifestyles the TAXPAYERS fund for theseMORALLY INFERIOR, UNWORTHY PARASITES.The taxpayers fund thier mansions and rents,build thier homes and hideyholes,pay for thier high style transportation..For these pigs of privelege everything is written off..There are no sacrifices these already wealthy fucks will make...Maybe it is time for TAXPAYERS to stop filling the trough for these cold hearted elitist shits who could care less if all the"underprivleged" died tomorrow.

[Demit]

2. what does "twipping" mean?

[Tesla]

3. How can they even CONSIDER cutting Medicade????

Where is this money going to be more well spent, Iraq????


HELLO PEOPLE!!!

[undergroundpanther]

7. Doctor waives the bill.

They get treatment for free.

[area51]

5. What undergroundpanther said. (n/t)

[durablend]

4. Here's the qualifier

But there is another reason for the delay besides the need to provide immediate relief to hurricane victims -- even some Republican lawmakers say it would be bad public relations to cut Medicaid when so many poor people were disproportionately, and visibly on national television, affected by the hurricane.


Once they're out of sight and out of mind, chop chop chop.

[Javaman]

6. aka bad PR, not bad policy. crooked heartless fucks.

but don't you worry, as soon as they can distract the sheeple with something else, you can count on the fact that they will fuck the poor once again.

God, I hate these things called repukes. I loath their mere existence.

colossal failure*.

[eeper69]

8. Agreed.

Give 'em maybe a month and they'll be back at it again :grr:

[MasonJar]

9. The pugs are right on top of bad publicity. n/t