Rick Scott Meets An Angry Constituient

A woman in a downtown Gainesville Starbucks unloads on Gov. Rick Scott for refusing to expand Medicaid. Scott makes a hasty retreat for the exit. Scott claims to the woman that he created a million jobs. Scott has yet to provide empirical evidence that his policies have created job.

Will Weatherford's Won't Move on Medicaid

Like Paul Ryan, Will Weatherford is a Ayn Rand devotee. Weatherford has been against Medicaid expansion in Florida. Miami Herald columnist Fabiola Santiago pointed out the hypocrisy in Weatherford's stance. Weatherford's father said that the family took Medicaid money for a family medical crisis.

According to his father, the family accepted more than $100,000 in Medicaid dollars to pay the bills of Weatherford’s cancer-stricken 13-month-old brother, who died in 1995. Weatherford has said he was too young to remember how the finances were handled, yet he remembers enough to cast doubt on his father’s recollection, and avoid judgment on his position. But he’s catering to the point of view of wealthy supporters and the powerful father-in-law who put him in office, Tallahassee royalty.

Weatherford has refused to consider having Florida accept $51.3 billion in Medicaid funds. Weatherford has vowed that no bill for increased Medicaid dollars will pass through the Florida House of Representatives. There are currently 3.3 million uninsured in Florida.

Rene Garcia, R-Miami, and Rep. Amanda Murphy, D-New Port Richey have filed bills in the House and the Senate for Medicaid expansion. Murphy will need to convince Rep. Richard Corcoran, the chair of two health committees.

"I'll have a conversation with anyone, anytime, any place about public policy," Corcoran, R-Trinity, said today. But he would not commit to allowing Murphy's proposal to be heard in his committees.

Republicans have campaigned against Obamacare. They fear getting ripped by the tea party if they vote for Medicaid expansion. Far right conservative polotics is getting in the way of good policy. Floridians are still getting taxed for Medicaid. Regardless of whether or not they receive the benefits.

Will Weatherford Still Against Medicaid Expansion

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford wrote an error-filled op-ed against the expansion of Medicaid. I was struck by this paragraph.

According to the chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee, “The fastest thing that’s going to go when we’re cutting spending in Washington is a 100-or 90-percent match rate for Medicaid. There’s no way.”

That would never pass in the Senate. President Barack Obama would never sign cuts that deep into law. The Medicaid expansion is part of the Affordable Care Act. Obama is not letting Republicans touch his signature piece of legislation. Obama wants to make cuts into Medicare but that is a separate issue. Paul Ryan threatened to cut the matching funds. Nothing happened. The matching funds are part of the ACA. The matching funds are laws.

Ryan's threat to cut matching funds didn't carry much weight. Republican governors are slowly coming around to accepting Medicaid expansion. These governors don't want to explain to voters why they denied health care when they run for election.

Republican Party of Florida Edits Out Bondi Being Against Medicaid Expansion

Retired blogger Benjamin Kirby has called Pam Bondi of being a robot.

I. Robot. Bondi. Prosecute. Prosecute. Prosecute. Robbers. Crooks. Scam Artists. Federal. Government. Health. Care. Takeover. Destroy. Destory. Destroy. End transmission.

Bondi is a talking points machine. I can never recall hearing an insightful word from Bondi that made me rethink my position on an issue. It is not surprising that Bondi went on the comedy show known as Fox and Friends and said she was against a Medicaid expansion for Florida.

"I felt very strongly that we should not participate in the Medicaid expansion, and the House of Representatives agreed," she said. "So, therefore, Florida is not participating in the expansion of Medicaid, and I'm very proud of our state."

Unfortunately for Bondi, she is not an astute politician. The Florida House not expanding Medicaid is unpopular. So unpopular that political reporter Matt Dixon noted that the Republican Party of Florida cut out Robot Bondi's Medicaid talking points from their Youtube clip. Bondi rants on about fraud and limited government. Hitting the usual talking points.

The Fox News website has the full video with Bondi stating she is Medicaid expansion.

Another fun Bondi moment was her saying that the Supreme Court didn't believe that the health insurance mandate penalty was a tax and predicted a repeal.

“They do not believe this is a tax,” Bondi said of the justices.

The mandate will be debated more tomorrow.

“I felt very confident,” Bondi said as she was surrounded by other attorneys general challenging the law.

Bondi's prediction was the absolute opposite of how the Roberts majority ruled.

By a 5-4 vote, the court held the law's mandate requiring Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty valid under Congress's constitutional authority to levy taxes. The financial penalty for failing to carry insurance possesses "the essential feature of any tax," producing revenue for the government, Chief Justice Roberts wrote.

Pam Bondi: legal scholar.

Rick Scott Should Fact-Check Himself

It would be nice if Florida had a governor that actually knew what he was talking about about. Gov. Rick Scott has been complaining that Florida would have to pay for calling up the National Guard, in the event of an emergency. Scott was wrong before about the cost of Medicaid expansion.

Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott has rejected the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. And now he’s in hot water for apparently inflating the cost of the expansion to Floridians in order to justify his decision.

The website Health News Florida reported Tuesday that Scott was warned in letters by the state legislature’s top economist and budget analyst that his administration’s figure — that the expansion would cost the state $26 billion over 10 years — was false.

Scott was forced to backtrack on his overblown estimates on what Medicaid expansion would cost Florida. Once again Scott is fact-checked. This time by Sen. Bill Nelson. In a letter, Nelson informs Scott that FEMA would pick up the cost of calling up the National Guard.

June 7, 2013

The Honorable Rick Scott Governor of Florida The Capitol 400 S. Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399

SENT VIA EMAIL WITH HARD COPY TO FOLLOW

Dear Gov. Scott:

I appreciate your letter of June 5, echoing the concerns Maj. Gen. Emmett R. Titshaw Jr. publicly expressed about sequestration in his opinion column published last month by the National Guard Association of The United States.

I have had my staff examining the Florida National Guard’s risk assessment and requests for relief, as well as the Department of Defense’s consideration of those requests; and, any actions taken by authorities so far to mitigate possible readiness risks during the 2013 hurricane season.

As was reported today by Gannett newspapers in Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio and I both agree nothing can be changed right now with only a few months left in this fiscal year.

Instead, you could be enormously helpful by urging some of the Florida Republican members of Congress to get rid of the sequester by exploring with us more sensible and strategic ways to reduce the budget for the next fiscal year, starting Oct. 1.

Regarding your concern about increased costs to the state, let me share with you what I have received from the legal office of FEMA Director Craig Fugate. If you as Governor activate the National Guard in anticipation of a federal disaster, the state’s costs, including the costs to recall any furloughed Guardsmen, will be fully reimbursable by FEMA.

Specifically: “For the purposes of FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Emergency Work reimbursement, the National Guard must be activated by the Governor to conduct disaster related emergency work. This would include the activation of National Guardsmen who are on furlough (dual status technicians).

“Under a Presidential disaster declaration, FEMA reimburses the State (Grantee), subject to the State cost-share, for costs in excess of those incurred for weekend drills and annual training and other non-disaster related activations.”

Again, thank you for your letter in support of our ongoing efforts to define and explore alternatives.

Sincerely,

Bill Nelson

It is embarrassing Florida has a governor that is this constantly misinformed. Doesn't anyone in Scott's office clear the governor's statements? It would save Scott from making a fool of himself.

Alan Grayson Petition For No Cuts to Entitlements

Rep. Alan Grayson is running a petition for no cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

Petition: "We Are Against Any and Every Cut to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Not today, not tomorrow, and not ever. No way, no how. Not on your life, and certainly not on mine. N-E-V-E-R. Sincerely, The American People"

Grayson has been quite vocal about not cutting Social Security and Medicare.

Faulty Republican Medicaid Logic

Republicans have been feeding this false narrative of the federal government will renege on their commitment for Medicaid funding. The latest to express uncertainty is Florida State Rep. John Wood.

“There is a great deal of uncertainty out there and that just makes me cautious,” Wood said.

Gov. Rick Scott was busted for falsely stating that Florida would pay the bulk of the cost for Medicaid expansion. The truth is that the federal government will pay for the bulk of the cost.

This funding is unlike past efforts to expand Medicaid in that the federal government will pick up the full tab for the first three years. The state gradually has to pick up some costs in 2017 but by 2020 the federal government is still picking up 90 percent or more of the Medicaid tab.

Jonathan Chait made the point that Republicans will make any disingenuous argument to not make a deal with President Obama on the sequester.

If Obama could get hold of Klein’s mystery legislator and inform him of his budget offer, it almost certainly wouldn’t make a difference. He would come up with something – the cuts aren’t real, or the taxes are awful, or they can’t trust Obama to carry them out, or something.

Florida Republicans are using the same bogus rationale that congressional Republicans are using on the sequester. Republicans will argue that the federal government will not cover Florida's Medicaid expenses. Never mind that the federal government covers the majority of Florida's Medicaid cost. This is the logic Florida House Republicans used to vote against Medicaid expansion.

Health Care Is Not A Job Killer

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam furthers this Republican talking point on health care.

The expansion of Medicaid in FL does not create jobs or strengthen our infrastructure. And it will cost cost Florida $5B over the next 10 years

Why is Putnam tying Medicaid to infrastructure. I would love Putnam to explain why he is tying health care for the poor to building new roads. As for Putnam's jobs claim, Putnam needs to read a book on economics. More people getting access to health care creates the need to hire more doctors, nurses and medical technicians. Jonathan Gruber made a good case on how the health care industry will need to hire people to meet the demand of 30 million new health care customers.

By now, most people who follow politics know that the law will result in more than 30 million additional Americans getting health insurance. But what few realize is that, by expanding insurance coverage, the law will also increase economic activity. These newly insured individuals will demand more medical care then when they were uninsured. And while it takes many years to train a family phyician or nurse practitioner, it doesn't take much time to train assistants and technicians (and related supporting staff) who can fill much of this need. In many cases, these are precisely the sort of medium-skill jobs that our economy desperately needs-and that the health care sector has already been providing, even during the recession

More immediately, the increase in economic security for American families will also mean an increase in consumer spending. Many uninsured consumers are forced to set aside money in low interest liquid accounts to make sure they have enough to cover unexpected medical costs. With the security provided by health insurance, they can free that money up for consumption that is much more valuable to them. When the federal government expanded Medicaid in the 1990s, my own research has shown, the newly insured significantly increased their spending on consumer goods. More purchases of consumer goods will provide short-run stimulation to the economy and more hiring.

The likely reason the Obama administration never countered the Republican "job killer" attacks is because the Affordable Care Act was designed to make money for the health care industry. That is why Mitt Romney signed Romneycare into Massachusetts state law.

Quote of the Day: Fiscal Cliff Edition

"He talks, for example, about $800 billion worth of revenues, but he says he’s going to do that by lowering rates. And when you look at the math, it doesn’t work....If we're going to raise revenues that are sufficient to balance with the very tough cuts that we've already made, and the further reforms in entitlements that I'm prepared to make, we’re going to have to see the rates on the top two percent go up. And we’re not going to be able to get a deal without it."

President Barack Obama, on House Speaker John Boehner's fiscal cliff proposal.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes that Boehner that not say where he would cut $600 billion from Medicare and Medicaid. The CBPP notes that this level of cuts would be "draconian."

When the well-being of millions of Americans is at stake — as it is with major changes in Medicare and Medicaid — that shouldn’t be acceptable. If policymakers want to propose $600 billion in health care entitlement savings, as they have every right to do, they should show us the specific changes they would make to get there. Until they do, such proposals shouldn’t receive much credibility.

Mitt Romney ran on economic policy vagueness and drastic cuts to entitlements. The result was a general election loss. Democrats now know the recipe to beat Republicans on entitlements. Boehner and other Congressional Republicans are committing political suicide by going after Medicare. Establishment Republicans fail to understand that many in their base are elderly people on Medicare.

Side note: Boehner is so unserious that yesterday he offered a Bowles plan that does not exist has a counter-proposal.

Scott's Health Care Reform is About Profit

"I can't make any sense of that," said Ron Hytoff, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital.

Hytoff made this comment to the Tampa Bay Times. Hytoff was asked about the hospital rating system proposed by Gov. Rick Scott. The "rate bands" would benefit hospitals that mostly cover patients who can pay for their health care. These are usually for-profit hospitals such as Scott's former company Hospital Corporation of America. The for-profit hospitals that make a profit would receive more Medicaid funding. Hospitals that treat the uninsured with see a decrease in Medicaid funds.

Scott is the former CEO of Columbia/HCA. A Justice Department investigation found that Scott behaved highly unethically.

However, federal investigators found Scott took part in business practices at Columbia/HCA that were later found illegal -- specifically, that Scott and other executives offered financial incentives to doctors in exchange for referrals, in violation of federal law, according to lawsuits the Justice Department filed against the company in 2001.

The doctor payments were among 10 different kinds of fraud identified by the Justice Department in its 10-year probe of the company, records show. Three years after Scott left Columbia/HCA, the company admitted wrongdoing, pleading guilty to 14 felonies -- the most committed during Scott's tenure -- in addition to paying two sets of fines totaling $1.7 billion.

Scott left because the board of Columbia/HCA forced him to resign. Columbia/HCA admitted to falsely billing Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE.

Scott likes to attack government health care. Scott has no problem receiving tax dollars when he CEO of Columbia/HCA. As Florida's multi-millionaire governor, Scott only pays only $30.00-a-month for government health care. That is amazing hypocrisy for a man who burst on the national political scene railing against government health care.

Scott's rating system would punish hospitals that treat the uninsured. Scott's answer is less funding for emergency room visits. Sick people are still going to go to the emergency room. What Scott's policy proposal would do is help financially sink health care centers like Tampa General Hospital. The worst case scenario is only the for-profit hospitals would remain. Scott's idea of health care reform is forcing all patients to go to a few for-profit institutions. Of course, Scott has no interest in regulating health care costs of these for-profit hospitals. Scott will tell Floridians that less hospitals employing health care workers is creating jobs.

Mr. Hytoff may not be able to make any sense out of Scott's rate band system awarding profitable hospitals more tax dollars. To me it makes perfect sense to me. Fortunately, Scott's rating system is too radical for the conservative Florida legislature.

The State of Florida Medicaid

The Medicaid bill passed by the Republican-dominated Florida legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Scott would allow health care providers to deny access to patients. Medicaid was designed to give health care to people who could not afford to pay for medical expenses. What Scott and other Republicans want is not health care access to the poor, but health care providers getting government money to increase profits.

Scott and Republicans are basing their policy on a failed Medicaid pilot program. Dr. Aaron Elkin, president of the Broward County Medical Association, told the Florida Independent that the pilot program is a failure.

Dr. Aaron Elkin, president of the Broward County Medical Association, tells the Independent all the data available on the Medicaid Reform pilot shows it has failed.

He says doctors and hospitals are not available for patients in the Pilot due to the hurdles imposed under the HMO model. He adds that Scott’s determination to cut the budget will only increase the Pilot’s problems, because there will not be enough doctors, hospitals and health workers to implement the program.

Florida House Democrats Elaine Schwartz, Mia Jones, Mark Pafford and Steve Perman sent a letter to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. They are asking the Obama administration to deny the implementation of the privatized Medicaid program.

"The new legislation builds on a failed managed care platform, expands its scope, introduces additional experimental elements and dramatically accelerates its implementation, but without resolving the outstanding problems and concerns of the current pilot," says the letter signed by Reps. Elaine Schwartz, Mia Jones, Mark Pafford and Steve Perman.

A Georgetown study found that the Duval County and Broward County pilot program that the HMOs did not have a big enough risk pool. This leads HMOs to try to deny coverage. The provider service networks were more successful because they were reimbursed for covering at-risk patients.

Health plans operate in much the same manner. The government pays the plan – for example an HMO – a set fee per person. The fees for those who do not get sick provide the cushion needed to pay the bills of those who do, and provide a profit for the HMO.Further protection is offered by a system of risk adjustment where the per-person payment is adjusted based on the “risk profile” of the client pool. Thus if one plan enrolls a higher share of patients with existing health conditions, it receives a higher average per-per-son payment. Part of the risk is random, since everyone has a chance of needing health services, but the risk adjustment helps since those with existing conditions are more likely to need services.Since the beginning of Medicaid reform, HMOs operating in there form counties have operated “at-risk,” that is, they receive a per-patient fee based on the risk profile of their client pool. It is up to the HMO to ensure that there is enough money to pay claims and turn a profit.PSNs, on the other hand, have not operated at risk to date. They are reimbursed for their actual costs for each patient. (This is the same manner in which the state’s MediPass program previously operated.)In September 2009, however, PSNs will be required to go at risk,operating in the same manner as HMOs.

The Georgetown study found that after the pilot program was instituted, there was a ten percent decline in doctors serving Medicaid patients. The pilot program also lost patients. The short answer is Florida created a public option program with more red tape.

Similar to what was reported in Briefing #2, providers who have remained in Medicaid are seeing fewer Medicaid patients. About 38 percent of physicians surveyed in 2008 reported that they retained half or fewer of their patients. In some cases, physicians dropped plans after bad experiences.One physician in Broward County said his frustration with some plans led to with-drawing from their networks. “I’ve let go of one or two of [the plans] – it is the most difficult experience that you can have. You are coupling low pay-ments with a high threshold [in terms of prior approval] to get care and diagnostic testing. Coupling the worst things you can do!”

Scott and the Florida legislature waived that health care providers had to use 85 percent of Medicaid funding for patient treatment. Republicans did this to insure greater profits for the health care industry. Encouraging the health care industry to inflate their administrative cost is exactly the opposite of what series people have been trying to do in reforming the health care system.

The Georgetown study is under the fold.

Read more »

Once More With Feeling: Obama Cutting Entitlements

I wrote about Obamabot Joy-Ann Reid lying about President Barack Obama not targeting entitlements. Below are Obama's own words. The President clearly states that he is targeting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

"The vast majority of Democrats on Capitol Hill would prefer not to have to do anything on entitlements, would prefer frankly not to do anything on these debt and deficit problems," he said.

But doing nothing is irresponsible and is really not an option, Obama argued.

"If you look at the numbers then Medicare in particular will run out of money and we will not be able to sustain that program no matter how much taxes go up," he said. "It's not an option for us to just sit by and do nothing. if you're a progressive that cares about he integrity of Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid ... then we have an obligation to make sure that we make those changes required to make this sustainable in the long term."

Social Security is running on a surplus. Money has been taken out of Social Security to pay for other federal spending. The health care debate was an opportunity for President Obama to deal with Medicare and Medicaid costs. To some extent the administration lowered costs. The cost savings the White House have been internally talking about in cost of living adjustment. COLA is the inflation adjustment to Social Security payments. Translation: the payments are going to either look smaller are the inflation increases are spread out more.

Either Obama believes that Dick Morris' 1996 campaign advice to Bill Clinton was true or the President is rather conservative. Most likely, it is a combination of the two.

Nancy Pelosi Orlando Townhall Meeting

Pelosi town hall meeting in Orlando re Medicare
- Watch more Politics Videos at Vodpod.

Nancy Pelosi makes the case for Medicare and Medicaid at a Orlando townhall meeting. Pelosi details how Republicans feel about the sick and needy.

"In my remarks on the (House) floor, I said to the Republicans, 'Do you realize that your leadership is asking you to end Medicare as we know it? Do you understand that you are voting to abolish Medicare?' and they did," Pelosi told a mostly partisan crowd of about 60 people who attended the event at the L. Claudia Allen Senior Center in Orlando. "But the fact is, they think they can do this without the public being aware of it," she added.

The creator of the Republican House budget is Rep. Paul Ryan. This is the reason Ryan got into government.

"The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand."

Rand wrote "The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism." Rand actually preached that selfishness was a virtue.

Below is an interview Rand did with Tom Snyder. Rand told Synder that selfishness leads to being a "morally virtuous person."

SNYDER: "...happiness comes from making other people happy."

RAND: "Who hasn't heard it and that's the trouble. Let's aim for the day when people will not hear it anymore. Because it isn't true. It isn't justifible and the first question you would have to ask is why? Why is it good to want others to be happy but not yourself."

What person in their right mind would have this horrible woman be his role model?

Triangulation Man: Entitlement Reform

Teagan Goddard reports President Barack Obama will announce plans of entitlement reform of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The policy of the health care mandate, the lame duck session tax cut extentions and recent cuts of Pell Grants and heating for the poor sucked. I have little confidence that the so-called reforms Obama will announce this week will be progressive. From a political standpoint, it is stupid. The entitlement programs are extremely popular with voters in both political parties. Is Obama running president in 2012 or most popular guy in the Beltway.

The Social Security wage base is currently $106,800. I seriously doubt Obama will raise the cap out of fear he will be labeled a tax and spend Democrat. The fact that Obama aleady is accused of that by Republicans is secondary. Obama's political agenda is to move to the right of his party. Seniors do not want Socail Security changed and they will come out to vote.

Medicare and Medicaid are in need of reform. The policy details will matter. I wonder why Obama thinks talking about government health care is a political winner for him. Again, seniors do not want drastic change to Medicare and Medicaid.

Obama is placing himself in the position of getting hammered by progressives and the tea party. What makes matters worse is Obama can not give a policy speech to save his life. (Quick: name your favorite Obama speech on health care and Afghanistan.) I would have more faith if this White House did policy well.

I wonder if the White House feels to has to counter Paul Ryan's budget proposal. The CBO scored that Rayan's budget would increase the deficit. Ryan is also getting hit hard for turning Medicare into a voucher program. The Ryan budget will not become law. Obama doesn't need to counter it.

Why the Hyde Amendment Needs to Be Repealed

Reproductive Rights has a video on the negative impact the Hyde Amendment has had on women being able to get access to an abortion. Republican in the House have recently worked on a bill to limit abortion by trying to redefine the defination of rape. The video shows it aleardy is nearly impossible to get an abortion through Medicaid.

Rick Scott Will Deny Transplants to Patients

Peter Schorsch has the most disturbing aspects of Gov. Rick Scott's budget.

* Privatizing the state’s three mental health hospitals in Chattahoochee, Macclenny and Gainesville, savings also gained by eliminating the state workforce;

* Closing two prisons – a move Scott said was made easier by the state having 8,000 excess prison beds in the system;

* Saving close to $1 billion by limiting the state’s Medically Needy program to pregnant women and children, barring thousands of transplant patients and those with catastrophic illnesses from participating in the program;

* Cutting $1 billion from the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration, by imposing 5 percent cuts in state payments to hospitals, nursing homes and other health-care facilities, and eliminating annual cost of health care increases;

* Setting in motion plans to steer Florida’s more than 2.7 million Medicaid patients into managed care programs, setting the stage for $1.2 billion in savings in 2012-13;

* Revamping health insurance coverage for state workers, increasing payments for Florida’s select exempt employees such as legislative staff and lawmakers, and senior managers. Scott also would cap employee health coverage at $5,000 annually.

Scott is going to endanger the lives of Floridians by dying many much needed transplants. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has denied organ transplants to sick patients. Patients have died under Brewer's policy.

Scott won't fund transplants but he will give corporate tax cuts. The cold-blooded health care view Scott used to create massive Medicare fraud at Columbia/HCA is now rearing it's ugly head in Florida's health care policy. This is disgusting.

Offensive Comment By Joe Negron

Joe Negron is the chair of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee. Republicans in the Florida are going to commit drastic cuts to Medicaid matching grants. Negron plans $1 to $2 billion in cuts. The conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation has urged Florida to entirely dropout of Medicaid. Patients have died in Arizona from Gov. Jan Brewer's Medicaid cuts.

Negron chaired a hearing and made this shockingly offensive comment.

“I don’t think they have a KidCare program in Ethiopia or India,” he said, admonishing people testifying before his committee to “stop the self-flagellation about all the things we’re not doing.”

He went on to say “I don’t want this to be the doom and gloom committee,” and that “Let’s celebrate the good things we’re doing in health and human services.”

Negron really doesn't care if children do not have health care access to Kidcare. Saying the Florida health care system is better than "Ethiopia or India" is holding the state system to a low standard.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush ran Kidcare so poorly the program went into debt because he refused to provide matching funding to receive federal money. The result was poor children were placed on a 700,000 person waiting list. I like to hear Negron provide academic proof the running a Kidcare deficit created jobs.

Florida Republicans Plan to Cut Medicaid Part 2

The Heritage Foundation is pushing the Florida government to opt out of Medicaid.

To stanch the fiscal hemorrhage, the conservative Heritage Foundation says Florida could save $28 billion over five years by simply opting out of Medicaid. Though that might sound like a radical move, it dovetails philosophically with Attorney General Bill McCollum's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Opting out also matches legislators' determination to pass a constitutional amendment to prevent the federal government from compelling people to participate in any health-care system. Both the House and the Senate have listed the resolution -- AJR 1 and SJR 1 respectively -- as their first order of business in 2011.

Medicaid is funded differently than Medicare. States have to provide matching grants to Medicaid. No matching funds from Florida means no federal funding. Florida is facing serious problems funding Medicaid. That is due to Florida's economic problems and the Republican obsession with tax cuts. Republicans have long hated Great Society programs like Medicaid. The best way to kill it is not fund it.

Florida Republicans Plan to Cut Medicaid

The Florida government is running a $3 billion budget deficit going into the new legislative session. The Florida constitution demands that the budget be balanced. Which is why Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon called tax cuts a "top priority."

We also asked Cannon about how the Legislature can afford to approve tax cuts or incentives for businesses this year after news this week that the state's budget shortfall is $3 billion or more.

"It is something that is literally the top priority," Cannon said. "Finding out where to make those cuts and how to make those policy changes to support them is the biggest item, I think, in the windscreen of the Legislature right now."

Incoming Florida Gov. Rick Scott has made the campaign promise of a 19 percent property tax cut. Property taxes have become regressive in Florida. Reform is needed. It is hard to see how Scott can pull off that big of a tax cut when the budget shortfall. It weren't work, but I have no doubt Scott and the Republicans in the Florida legislature will push for tax cuts. Damn the consequences.

Cannon and other Florida Republicans are planning to pay for the tax cuts by cutting Medicaid. There is nothing Democrats in the Florida legislature can do about it. Sen. Joe Negron is planning $2 billion in Medicaid cuts.

Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who chairs the Senate health budget committee, said he expects to have to trim $1 billion to $2 billion in healthcare costs. He said he is targeting ``soft'' services, such as payments to consultants who don't provide direct care to patients.

Administrative costs do eat up a portion of health care funding. I doubt Negron is going to find $2 billion in savings. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer cut Medicaid costs by refusing to cover transplant surgery. Brewer has refused to call a special session to address the issue. Brewer's policy has placed the lives of people needing transplants at risk. Brewer dismissed the complaints of patients to Think Progress.



Brewer is incorrect about only bone marrow patients not being able to get transplants. Randy Shepherd is in need of a heart transplant. Tiffany Tate fears that if she doesn't get a transplant she will die.



This is the kind of Medicaid we are going to get in Florida if Republicans have their way. J.D. Alexander makes the debunked argument of trickle down economics.

``It's too early to speak to that, one way or the other,'' said Senate Budget Chairman JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales. ``Clearly, putting more money in people's pockets helps them to grow business and feed their families. But, that said, we are facing a fairly challenging economic situation.''

Florida has a tax system that provides tax cuts for stadium luxury suites and yachts. Yet Floridians will see Medicaid cut by Republicans that have long made their contempt for government health care well known. People should be very worried. I'm sorry, but Rick Scott and Dean Cannon are the last two people I want to be making decisions on health care.

Newt Hearts Holly Benson

Florida Attorney General candidate Holly Benson has received the prestigious Newt Gingrich endorsement. If you want someone to shut down government or compare President Obama's governing style to that of Nazi Germany like Gingrich did then Benson is your candidate.

“The next Attorney General of Florida will have to take the lead on the lawsuit challenging Obamacare,” Gingrich, the former U.S. House speaker, said in a release. “In my opinion, there is no one more qualified to do this than Holly Benson. So today, I am proud to endorse Holly's candidacy for Florida Attorney General.

“I've worked with Holly, and I know she is a proven conservative that you can trust. Because Holly worked with Governor Jeb Bush to transform Florida's Medicaid program and served as Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, she is uniquely qualified to understand the dire consequences of Obamacare for our health care system and our Constitution,” he said

“Beyond that crucial issue, Holly understands that we must reduce unnecessary regulation and fight frivolous lawsuits in order to restore our economy. She is pro-life, rated A+ by the NRA, and like her mentor Governor Jeb Bush, is a committed free-market capitalist. Holly Benson will make a great Attorney General for Florida, and I encourage you to consider voting for Holly on August 24."

Gingrich wants Benson to waste taxpayer dollars fighting against people having the right to health care. Benson shouldn't go anywhere near the issue of health care. She made this insensitive remark when she served as Secretary of the Agency for Health Care.

Just because you're poor doesn't mean you're unhealthy, it just means you have a lot more time to go running."

Below is the audio of the radio interview in which Benson made her infamous comment.



Benson was brought in by Jeb Bush to lower the cost of Medicaid. The problem is no audit could show that Benson actually did lower Florida's Medicaid expenses.

As Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary, Benson and Attorney General Bill McCollum spent $2 million fighting a lawsuit claiming children were not being provided properly medical and dental care. Benson hired AHCA to collect Medicaid over-payments. AHCA still did not collect $120 million in over-payments due back to the state. Benson already had left the Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary when Phil Williams of AHCA was called to testify before the Florida Senate.

Sen. Mike Haridopolos to Williams:

"We are going into this budget crisis, and here we are just not collecting overpayments?," said a ticked Sen. Mike Haridopolos, the Republican tapped to be the next Senate president. "If $100 million could have been collected, how could we go a whole year without collecting money that could go back to taxpayers? And then we just tell the company that got the contract, 'Oh it's OK, we'll wait.' In the real world, a company would have been fired for doing that."

Sen. Nan Rich:

"I just don't understand how, year to year, the same people do this to the taxpayers and it just goes on and on," said Rich, D-Sunrise. "And yet here we are looking at one of the most egregious budgets in terms of the services that might be cut for people."

Benson's policies in action aren't very fiscally conservative and have hindered the ability of poor parents to provide their children with good health care. No wonder Gingrich endorsed her.