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Missouri's health care less than before Blunt
The bottom line on changes to Missouri's $6 billion Medicaid program remains that fewer poor people are served now than before Matt Blunt become governor.
Blunt and his supporters in the General Assembly equate what they did Friday, at the end of this year's legislative session, to progress. Blunt stated triumphantly that a new program called Mo HealthNet, which he advocated and the General Assembly passed, “will put people first. Mo HealthNet increases choice, improves quality and promotes preventative care. It transforms Missouri's health care safety net, empowers Missourians to be participants and focuses on health, wellness and prevention.”
Put people first?
The meaning of those words should be considered within the historical context established by the man uttering the words.
During the tough 2004 gubernatorial election campaign, on the critical hot button issue of health care, Blunt stated, “I'm very opposed to changing eligibility requirements for the (Medicaid) program.”
Just four months after being elected governor, Blunt in 2005 received a bill changing eligibility requirements for Medicaid. The “very opposed” Blunt signed the changes into law.
The changes lowered the eligibility threshold for Medicaid in Missouri from 75 percent of the federal poverty line to just 22 percent. Based on the numbers, according to a bastion of conservatism, The Wall Street Journal, a family of three can earn no more than $3,504 a year in Missouri, excluding some child-care costs, to qualify for Medicaid; in 2005, the figure stood at $12,067.
Considering what he said prior to the 2004 election, and what he did shortly after the election, what Blunt means when he says the new Medicaid legislation “puts people first” may be that some people somewhere will be put first, but definitely not all of those Missourians who actually need Medicaid.
Now that another election year looms large, Blunt and his posse in the General Assembly on Friday simply gave back a little of what they took from Medicaid, then commenced cock-a-doodle-dooing to get all the eggs they can out of a mighty skinny rooster. The situation compares to a thief who, after running off with millions from children and those who are sick, mails back a few bucks and expects a philanthropist of the year award.
Despite the ballyhooing of supporters, the fact is that the Mo HealthNet plan makes only modest changes and still does nothing for most of the 100,000 people who got kicked out of the program three years ago to save the state money.
That fact is all the harder to stomach because the same lawmakers who favored the cuts to Medicaid pushed hard this year to give tax breaks to their business buddies. The breaks have been lumped into a big economic incentives bill that Blunt should veto.
In coming weeks, the public will learn whether Blunt can just say no to business interests as easily as he just said no to Medicaid recipients.
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Blunt and his supporters in the General Assembly equate what they did Friday, at the end of this year's legislative session, to progress. Blunt stated triumphantly that a new program called Mo HealthNet, which he advocated and the General Assembly passed, “will put people first. Mo HealthNet increases choice, improves quality and promotes preventative care. It transforms Missouri's health care safety net, empowers Missourians to be participants and focuses on health, wellness and prevention.”
Put people first?
The meaning of those words should be considered within the historical context established by the man uttering the words.
During the tough 2004 gubernatorial election campaign, on the critical hot button issue of health care, Blunt stated, “I'm very opposed to changing eligibility requirements for the (Medicaid) program.”
Just four months after being elected governor, Blunt in 2005 received a bill changing eligibility requirements for Medicaid. The “very opposed” Blunt signed the changes into law.
The changes lowered the eligibility threshold for Medicaid in Missouri from 75 percent of the federal poverty line to just 22 percent. Based on the numbers, according to a bastion of conservatism, The Wall Street Journal, a family of three can earn no more than $3,504 a year in Missouri, excluding some child-care costs, to qualify for Medicaid; in 2005, the figure stood at $12,067.
Considering what he said prior to the 2004 election, and what he did shortly after the election, what Blunt means when he says the new Medicaid legislation “puts people first” may be that some people somewhere will be put first, but definitely not all of those Missourians who actually need Medicaid.
Now that another election year looms large, Blunt and his posse in the General Assembly on Friday simply gave back a little of what they took from Medicaid, then commenced cock-a-doodle-dooing to get all the eggs they can out of a mighty skinny rooster. The situation compares to a thief who, after running off with millions from children and those who are sick, mails back a few bucks and expects a philanthropist of the year award.
Despite the ballyhooing of supporters, the fact is that the Mo HealthNet plan makes only modest changes and still does nothing for most of the 100,000 people who got kicked out of the program three years ago to save the state money.
That fact is all the harder to stomach because the same lawmakers who favored the cuts to Medicaid pushed hard this year to give tax breaks to their business buddies. The breaks have been lumped into a big economic incentives bill that Blunt should veto.
In coming weeks, the public will learn whether Blunt can just say no to business interests as easily as he just said no to Medicaid recipients.