Kasich on Medicaid and Common Core

Art credit: theadventuresofcallum.blogspot.com

This letter, published yesterday in the Wheeling News-Register, is by our fellow patriot Bob Connors with the We the People Ohio Valley :

Kasich Mishandled Medicaid

December 16, 2014

The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Mike Myer's recent opinion "Political Litmus Tests Unwise" makes sense except where conscience and freedom meet. Should we not hold politicians accountable for issues like health care choice or kid's education?

Describing Gov. Kasich's unilateral implementation of Medicaid expansion as a single issue may be naive, Ohioans voted for, and overwhelmingly passed, a health care amendment to protect themselves from the unpopular Obamacare in its entirety and Kasich disrespected that vote. Kasich then defied Ohio state representatives who said "no" to Medicaid expansion as they cut it from the budget. Kasich also ignored the throng of phone calls and email begging him not to support Obamacare via Medicaid expansion.

Is it crazy to question Kasich's contempt for voters and his debt legacy which will saddle Ohioans with huge permanent budget busting surges in spending for decades? No. It is fiscally irresponsible to commit billions of future tax dollars to hospital and health insurance executives as with Medicaid expansion. Ditto for committing big stealthy spending growth for Common Core Standards, a national one size fits all education disaster.

Many people oppose putting more of Ohio's poor into this broken Medicaid program because several studies show Medicaid patients have worse health outcomes than people without insurance. Kasich could have reformed Medicaid when he was first elected, thereby providing people with better outcomes at less cost, but he did not. Kasich uses the Bible to justify his actions but the Bible speaks of people helping people, not about politicians getting into heaven by creating generational debt.

Bob Connors

Bridgeport

# # # 

Medicaid Expansion in Ohio; Down but not Out

The budget bill was passed out of the Ohio House yesterday with a 61-35 vote - and it did not include Governor Kasich's proposal to expand Medicaid under Obamacare in Ohio. 

Sadly, this is only a minimal victory. While it is unlikely the Ohio Senate will put Medicaid expansion back in the budget, the fight to expand Medicaid is far from over.

Keeping Medicaid expansion in Ohio on life support, Representative Barbara Sears offered an amendment that passed which will keep the fight against Medicaid expansion going for at least the rest of the year.....

From The Plain Dealer -- (Emphasis Added)

Ohio's Medicaid expansion is down, but not out.

House Republicans kept alive the possibility that Ohio may expand its Medicaid program to cover the working poor, approving an amendment to its budget that could open the door to changes later this year.

The change was one of several the GOP-controlled House considered as members poised late Thursday night to vote on their iteration of Gov. John Kasich's "Jobs Budget 2.0" The chamber approved a budget proposal for the next two years by a vote of 61-35.

The GOP amendment on Medicaid expansion, introduced by Republican Rep. Barbara Sears of suburban Toledo, requires that legislation to reform the Medicaid program in Ohio be introduced in the House, but does not specify what shape that reform will take.

It directs the governor's Office of Health Transformation and his Medicaid director to provide assistance in developing the legislation. And if the legislation is not enacted before the year ends, efforts to change Medicaid must cease. More...

This is truly sad as Rep. Sears was at one time strongly against any form of Obamacare and even introduced legislation in 2010 trying to stop the implementation of Obamacare in Ohio.

So at the end of the day - some GOP members in the OH House are pretending to be conservative for taking Medicaid expansion out of the budget.

And when the truth be told -- these same GOP members that voted to remove Medicaid expansion from the budget -- also voted to support of an amendment giving an extended shelf life for a proposed Medicaid expansion in Ohio under Obamacare.

More Obamacare Failures / Reason # 9,547 Not to Expand Medicaid in Ohio

In yet exposing another failure of Obamacare that was predicted, businesses are dropping health care coverage for employees. The reason - insurance premiums rising over the implementation of Obamacare!

During the forcing of Obamacare down the throats of Americans, President Obama and his talking heads were repeatedly saying Obamacare would not take away your employee health insurance. In fact, in cases with businesses with over 50 employees, employers would be penalized for not offering employee health insurance.

We countered with it would be cheaper for businesses to pay the fine for not offering coverage, and by design, premiums would rise under Obamacare, thus forcing businesses to drop coverage, ultimately forcing people into government run health insurance.

And they say we were crazy Tea Party people....

From Cincy Enquirer -- (Emphasis Added)

Businesses in Ohio made some of the deepest cuts in the nation to employee health insurance benefits during the past decade, according to a report released Thursday.

The State Health Access Data Assistance Center, an independent group that studies health care, found about 11 million American workers lost their employer-provided health insurance plans between 2000 and 2011. That’s a drop of 10 percentage points nationwide.

Ohio had the fourth biggest drop in the country, falling 13.7 percentage points.

Workers who kept their insurance saw premiums double in most states, with costs for single coverage increasing by about $2,500 a year in the state.

Analysts blame the decline in employer-provided insurance on a combination of economic turmoil, ever-increasing health care costs and uncertainty over President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, known by some as Obamacare. More....

Sadly, as more Obamacare programs are implemented and are showing to be failures, Governor Kasich wants to expand Medicaid under Obamacare in Ohio.

In spite of, and ignoring the fact that to date every aspect of Obamacare that has been implemented or is trying to be implemented has failed, Governor Kasich's arrogance has suppressed and clouded his judgement.

To protect Ohio from being infected and dragged down by the failures of Obamacare, we are asking that you contact the GOP members on the Ohio House Finance & Appropriations Committee and urge them to support provisions in Substitute HB 59, that remove Medicaid expansion in Ohio under Obamcare.

To contact the OH House Finance & Appropriations Committee click here.

OH Senate President Kieth Faber & Rep. Matt Huffman question Governor John "I Love Obamacare" Kasich's Medicaid Expansion

As Governor Kasich continues criss-crossing the state trying to sell his shameful, untruthful and morally bankrupt argument for expanding an unsustainable Medicaid expansion in Ohio under Obamacare, Ohio Senate President Kieth Faber and OH Rep Matt Huffman speak out on the perils of this fiscally irresponsible and financially unsustainable proposal.

While Faber & Huffman should be applauded for speaking out, the OH Representative from the Cleveland area who serves on the Finance Committee, Rep. Marlene Anielski (614)644-6041 (click here to email), is leaning towards Medicaid expansion and refuses to even return constituent phone calls.

From Lima Ohio.com --

LIMA — On the same day that two powerful state legislators — Senate President Keith Faber and state Rep. Matt Huffman — laid out a case why the state needs to move cautiously before accepting federal funds for Medicaid, Ohio Gov. John Kasich was in Ohio’s Appalachian foothills extolling his proposal to expand the coverage.

Such is the battle that continues to play out among fellow Republicans over Medicaid, a tug-of-war that is soon to come to a head. It pits lawmakers who are trying to rein in government spending against the leader of their party who is on a crusade to help the poor with money provided under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

The battle is becoming so intense that a core of Republicans spent part of last week’s “spring break” in Columbus trying to figure out a deal that would convince the governor to alter his push.

“Our colleagues in the General Assembly could design a better system to take care of the people we all care about,” Faber said Wednesday during a meeting at The Lima News.

Kasich, meanwhile, was in Jackson County arguing a much simpler case.

The governor told a Republican gathering that by accepting Obama’s expansion of the Medicaid program, $13 billion in taxpayer money would come back to Ohio from Washington over seven years.

“This is money that residents have already paid in federal taxes,” Kasich said.

Faber bristles at such talk. He said the plan Obama has put forth feels like an ultimatum more than anything, and said long-term funding of the program is troublesome at best.

“They essentially loaded the revolver and pointed it at the states, and said do this or else,” Faber said. “Nobody really believes this is free money from heaven. You’re essentially borrowing it from China and giving our kids the bill. And then the question is, how sustainable is it? Is it going to stay? You can’t back out of it.”

Without flexibility, the Celina Republican said, “It’s fraught with peril, no matter which way you go.”

Huffman said the problem is that government thinks in “small bites” of time instead of 10 to 20 years in the future. He compared the proposed Medicaid expansion to the funding problems of Social Security, noting it “appeared to be OK and financially affordable at the time, but here we’re looking back now 45 years later, and the whole thing is a disaster.”

Huffman doesn’t want to make another two-year decision that ultimately will be a bad decision over time.

“It’s gotta stop. At some point, the system is going to collapse,” the Lima state representative said.

Local effects

The Medicaid expansion would help individuals who earn up to 138 percent of federal poverty, roughly $15,000 annual income for an individual and $32,000 for a family of four. Many of these individuals who aren’t insured are likely working low-wage jobs without benefits. They may have to limit working because of a mental health condition that isn’t severe enough to qualify for disability.

For local businesses and organizations, the expansion would assist in a variety of ways.

For the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize and Hardin counties, the expansion would help many of their clients by opening up their annual funds to programming beyond health care assistance.

“We’re very concerned for the overall health of our community. We are currently using resources to pay for some of these services. This [Medicaid expansion] would help us to restore some of our programming,” said Phil Atkins, associate director of the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board. “Many of our clients need services that even expanded Medicaid won’t pay for. … It won’t pay for things like housing. It won’t pay for things like getting people ready for jobs.”

Without the expansion, the board has to be more selective in what they can do for community members. Sometimes that even means rationing health treatments for clients.

At Baton Rouge Health Services Community in Lima, the Medicaid expansion would help about 10 percent of its workforce who work part time without benefits.

“Given that we’ve already endured quite a bit of Medicaid cuts on the reimbursement side, I think having some sort of a relief from the health insurance coverage would really help skilled nursing facilities,” said Georgiana Saffle, president at Baton Rouge.

Leaders from both local hospitals, Lima Memorial Health System and St. Rita’s Medical Center, expressed support for the Medicaid expansion in newspaper columns they wrote for The Lima News in February.

“We are already caring for people regardless of their ability to pay as part of our mission to improve the health of our communities,” wrote Bob Baxter, CEO of St. Rita’s Health Partners. “Expanded Medicaid Eligibility would allow our charity funds to go further and more equitably spread the cost of care.”

Alternative ideas

While Faber and Huffman agreed health care coverage is needed in certain situations, such as those who suffer from mental health problems or those who don’t have benefits through their low-wage jobs, not everyone should necessarily be included within the 138 percent of poverty threshold.

They said the program may not have the best incentives for people.

“The system has to have incentives for people to improve their lives, and not simply service what they want at the moment,” Huffman said. “And when you do that, it’s painful to people. When you say you can’t get this, unless you’re job training, unless you’re getting your education, unless you’re drug-free.”

Huffman also discussed the possibility of larger medical organizations using other monies to care for the poor. Some GOP members, such as Barbara Sears, of Toledo, have also discussed using more state funds than federal funds.

Kasich says state funding is off the table.

“Some in the legislature think we can spend state of Ohio money and reject the federal money. … I won’t tolerate it,” Kasich told the Columbus Dispatch. “We’re not going to make you pay twice. … That’s not acceptable.”

The Kasich administration has been negotiating with the White House since November to use federal funds to pay for some people to buy private insurance.

During the governor’s State of the State address in Lima in February, Kasich told legislators, “Our economy is stronger, our credit is up, we’re doing the right things. … The Lord would not want us to ignore those who are now vulnerable. These are people who played by the rules. They’re hurting.”

The next part of the process is coming soon.

Mike Dittoe, a spokesman for House Speaker William G. Batchelder, told the Dispatch that the Republican caucus has not achieved a consensus on what to do about Medicaid, but expects a bill from the House in two weeks that would show “which direction we’re pointed.”

Medicaid Expansion is Wrong Way for Ohio

The below is from Marianne Gasiecki, Founder of the Mansfield Tea Party and Tea Party Patriots Co-State Coordinator for Ohio....

From the Columbus Dispatch --

Ohio Right to Life President Michael Gonidakis recently accused tea party leaders of being more interested in their own ideology than in the health of Ohio residents .

Jeff Malek, coordinator for the Wadsworth 9-12 Group, was quoted as saying, “Instead of trying to understand why so many conservatives reject the expansion of Medicaid in Ohio, Mr. Gonidakis falsely accuses the tea party of a sentiment that has never been expressed by anyone within the movement.”

Unlike Gonidakis, the tea party and other conservative organizations believe that life has value and should be treated with dignity and respect, something Medicaid cannot provide.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office revealed that children on Medicaid receive worse care than children with no insurance. Mothers seeking specialty care for their children covered by Medicaid were denied appointments 66 percent of the time and dental appointments 64 percent of the time.

Medicaid patients with head and neck cancer are 50 percent more likely to die. Regarding other major surgical procedures, Medicaid patients have a longer length of stay, the highest hospital costs and the highest risk of death. How is that caring for our residents?

Gov. John Kasich stated he was using his lessons learned from the Good Book as justification for the expansion of this huge government program, urging lawmakers to examine their consciences and not let concerns about government spending trump this “moral imperative.” Debt is frowned upon in the Bible; in fact, it is considered to be a sin to incur debt without paying it back. Even our Founders frowned upon burdening future generations with our debt.

I'm also confident in saying that, when taking care of our fellow man, it doesn't mean providing inferior care, and yet that’s exactly what Gonidakis and Kasich are promoting.

Chris Long, president of the Ohio Christian Alliance, expressed a similar sentiment: “In my years of pastoring in the inner city, no one was denied medical care. In fact, the people that I pastored who were at or below the poverty line received excellent medical care with existing programs.”

Many conservative organizations, and governors, have offered free-market-based solutions to providing cost-effective, quality care to those in need. If caring for our fellow man is truly the objective, that is the direction our legislators should take us.

Marianne Gasiecki
Ohio State Co-Coordinator
Tea Party Patriots