Arizona Drops Children’s Health Program-47,000 low-income children without coverage.

[babylonsister]

Arizona Drops Children’s Health Program
By KEVIN SACK
Published: March 18, 2010


Arizona on Thursday became the first state to eliminate its Children’s Health Insurance Program when Gov. Jan Brewer signed an austere budget that will leave nearly 47,000 low-income children without coverage.

The Arizona budget is a vivid reflection of how the fiscal crisis afflicting state governments is cutting deeply into health care. The state also will roll back Medicaid coverage for childless adults in a move that is expected to eventually drop 310,000 people from the rolls.

State leaders said they were left with few choices because of a $2.6 billion projected shortfall next year. But hospital officials and advocates for low-income people said they were worried that emergency rooms would be overrun by patients who had few other options for care, and that children might suffer enduring developmental problems because of inadequate medical attention.

The cuts also mean the state will forgo hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching aid, and could lose far more if Congress passes a health bill that requires states to maintain eligibility levels for the two programs.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/health/policy/19arizona.html?ref=us

[guitar man]

1. well, 47,000 poor children without health care

is better than taxing the rich more....can you imagine the horror of only being able to afford a Gulfstream IV instead of a Gulfstream V? What would the neighbors think? Screw those poor kids, we have to keep our priorities in order!




:sarcasm:

[OHdem10]

2. Beginning to sound like we are in more than a recession.

[Catshrink]

3. Oh it's ugly here.

The Leg. is infested with those who put ideology above all else. The "leadership" all took the Grover Norquist pledge not to raise taxes and they fear that more than their constituents. When they ordered across the board 12% cuts to state agencies, the Leg. only took a 5% cut saying they'd already cut to the bone and couldn't go any lower. But they expect everyone else to do with less.

I just never thought they'd cut off the help to sick kids. They also tried, but were rebuffed, to close down the juvenile justice system and transfer the kids to county jails that don't have the resources. They aren't raising taxes but are shifting the burden to the counties so what's the difference? They want cover from accusations of breaking their pledge to Grover Norquist. We won't talk about what they've done to schools.

Their way of balancing the budget is to cut to the bone but cut taxes to businesses. Business is sacrosant.

[liberalhistorian]

5. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they also

just pass a "birther" bill, stating that future presidents needed to verify proof of birth or some such happy horseshit?

[kestrel91316]

6. States can't dictate such conditions to presidential candidates, lol.

They need to read the Constitution a bit more closely rather than spending all morning, noon, and night waving it around like panties from a whore on a Bourbon Street balcony.

[Newest Reality]

4. Few choices?

Well, maybe. I haven't looked into what Arizona is doing.

I could offer some choices:

Tax the wealthy and increase taxes on big-profit corporations. Not to mention, remove loopholes that circumvent taxation for those with mucho bucks.

Oh, yeah, that's not even on the table. Oh, no big deal, those are nameless, faceless children and we don't know them personally, so let's ignore the brain-dead solution to solve fiscal problems by cutting the least most needy, but least represented of all.

Corporations will continue to get their welfare across the board, from municipal to federal and we are all supposed to be thankful for that, somehow.

Hey, big business, banks, tycoons and moguls, America wants to BAIL YOU OUT ... and if we could, we would have your children. See! We are serious, screw those sick kids and especially those sick adults. Now, can we have a treat and a pat on the head? Please don't cut off our stuff!