U.S. Curtailing Bids to Expand Medicaid Rolls

[FreeStateDemocrat]

Source: NY Times

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: January 4, 2008
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is imposing restrictions on the ability of states to expand eligibility for Medicaid, in an effort to prevent them from offering coverage to families of modest incomes who, the administration argues, may have access to private health insurance.

The restrictions mirror those the administration placed on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in August after states tried to broaden eligibility for it as well.

Until now, states had generally been free to set their own Medicaid eligibility criteria, and the Bush administration had not openly declared that it would apply the August directive to Medicaid. State officials in Louisiana, Ohio and Oklahoma said they had discovered the administration’s intent in negotiations with the federal government over the last few weeks.

The federal government has leverage over states, because it pays a large share of the costs for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and states have to comply with federal standards to get federal money. The insurance program was created for children whose families have too much income to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy private insurance.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/washington/04health.html?ref=health

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Too busy worring about keeping people from accessing heathcare when they should trying to expand coverage. Universal healthcare needs to a cornerstone commitment to the American people for whoever is our nominee's in 2008. No sellout to the healthcare/insurance corporate interests need apply, no BS they either sign on or they don’t get the nomination. This is the Democratic Party so it is past time that our nominee starts representing the American working class and stops being a corporate whore.

[Demeter]

1. Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

Nobody has ever accused BushCo of over-thinking a problem.

[rodeodance]

2. i would love to see bush and his family stranded without health care. Not

a good thought. but i am so so angry.

[TomClash]

3. Die Poor Die nt

[dropkickpa]

4. Shit, when I and Dropkis were on medicaid

I had access to health insurance through my work (they will pay premiums if it is cost effective and you still meet income guidelines). Medicaid evaluated it and decided it was complete shit coverage at a much higher cost and opted to keep us on medicaid. I'm sure this is the case for many of the families Bush wants to kill.

[donkeyotay]

5. Agreed. This is a huge issue, and the likely nominees all fall short.

The media's been muddying the issue by re-framing universal care as mandatory insurance, which will not only not fix the problem, but is a new form of corporate welfare. It's maddening that the Democratic Party has made it so painfully obvious that "change" is a slogan.