From the VOMITORIUM

Yes the GOP is standing by Ryan’s budget….but not too close….they all see the handwriting on the wall…..mess with Medicare and lose your re-election bid….and we know that it is all about being re-elected and nothing about what is best for the people of this country….anyway…..Medicare will most likely be safe from the massive overhaul and eventual privatization that the Repubs had wanted…and that will be great news……but…..there is always a but…..what about Medicaid?  You know that program in the states that assists the poor in receiving medical care?  Will it be safe from the hatchet job that the Repubs were planning for Medicare?

It seems that Ryan’s budget will still have this program in the cross hairs and if he and his cronies are successful what will it mean to the poor in the states?

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities delves into the details of Ryan’s plan to slash Medicaid by more than a third over the next decade, and in half over the next two decades:

• Seniors:   An overwhelming majority of Medicare beneficiaries who live in nursing homes rely on Medicaid for their nursing home coverage.  Because the Ryan plan would require such deep cuts in federal Medicaid funding, it would inevitably result in less coverage for nursing home residents and shift more of the cost of nursing home care to elderly beneficiaries and their families.  A sharp reduction in the quality of nursing home care would be virtually inevitable, due to the large reduction that would occur in the resources made available to pay for such care.
• People with disabilities:   These individuals constitute 15 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries but account for 42 percent of all Medicaid expenditures, mostly because of their extensive health and long-term care needs.  Capping federal Medicaid funding would place significant financial pressure on states to scale back eligibility and coverage for this high-cost population, many of whom would be unable to obtain coverage elsewhere because of their medical conditions.
• Children:  Currently, state Medicaid programs must provide children with health care services and treatments they need for their healthy development through the Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) aspect of Medicaid, which provides regular preventive care for children and all follow-up diagnostic and treatment services that children are found to need.  A block grant would likely permit states to drop EPSDT coverage, meaning that children, particularly those with special health care needs, would not be able to access some care that medical professionals find they need (because Medicaid would no longer cover certain health services and treatments for children, and their parents wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for that care on their own).

See…..they may be pushing back from the horrible idea of the voucher system for Medicare…they are still trying to kill the medical coverage for the poor….for they know that if it boils down to the states solely…the program will disappear….governors have been trying to kill it for decades and now they are within sight of success….