Five Ways Romney/Ryan’s Medicaid Cuts Would Hurt Seniors And The Middle Class Immediately
Seniors In Nursing Homes
On Wednesday night, former President Bill Clinton addressed an aspect of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan's plans that has not been talked about enough. "They also want to block grant Medicaid and cut it by an third over the coming ten years... Lot of folks don’t know it, but nearly two-thirds of Medicaid is spent on nursing home care for Medicare seniors who are eligible for Medicaid."
With the huge cuts Romney and Ryan imagine, seniors -- possibly millions of seniors -- will kicked out of the convalescent homes they're currently in or denied long-term coverage. When Romney and Ryan say their Medicare plan doesn't affect anyone over 55, they're floating a fantasy. But if they make that claim about their Medicaid cuts, they're simply lying.
Five Ways Romney/Ryan’s Medicaid Cuts Would Hurt Seniors And The Middle Class Immediately
Medicare Co-Pays
Here's another part of the Romney/Ryan that doesn't get talked about. Millions of seniors are already unable to cover the cost of their Medicare co-pays. For them, Medicaid is a life savor. It covers the copays and makes sure they don't wait to see a doctor until the last possible moment.
You can assume the ability of the program to cover these costs will be diminish with a third less of the resources needed.
Five Ways Romney/Ryan’s Medicaid Cuts Would Hurt Seniors And The Middle Class Immediately
Choosing Between The Elderly And Disabled And Kids
Under the Romney/Ryan plan each state will be charged with running its own Medicaid program with billions less than they'd been allotted before. This means each state will be forced to make a Sophie's Choice about who gets hit with the cuts first. The only people Medicaid helps are those in the direst need: the elderly, the disabled, poor children and pregnant women. Who will see the consequences of the cuts first?
Five Ways Romney/Ryan’s Medicaid Cuts Would Hurt Seniors And The Middle Class Immediately
Middle Class Parents Of Children With Disabilities
Clinton also addressed an aspect of Medicaid that is almost never discussed -- the help it gives to parents whose children suffer from a disability. "And a lot of that money is also spent to help people with disabilities. Including a lot of middle class families whose kids have down syndrome or autism or other severe conditions."
The costs of caring for these conditions could bankrupt easily bankrupt a middle class family. Approximately ten million children benefit with the crucial support Medicaid provides. Already millions of disabled children are not considered afflicted enough to receive help from Medicaid. We can only assume that number would grow rapidly if Romney and Ryan get their way.
Five Ways Romney/Ryan’s Medicaid Cuts Would Hurt Seniors And The Middle Class Immediately
Emergency Rooms
The competing visions on the ballot in 2012 could not be clearer. Romney and Ryan have a plan to kick millions and millions off Medicaid. Obama and Biden will keep ObamaCare in place, which expands Medicaid coverage to tens of millions.
The reason we have the most expensive health care system in the industrialized world is because we already have socialized medicine -- we just socialize it in the dumbest possible way. Thanks to a bill signed into law by Ronald Reagan, no emergency room can turn away anyone because he or she cannot afford to pay for services.
Who pays when the uninsured cannot? The insured, of course. Costs rise, emergency rooms fill up with people who do have not seen a doctor in years.
Romney and Ryan's solutions is designed to make people pull up their bootstraps. But what it will end up doing is punishing those who are responsible for their health care with higher costs and longer wait times when they need care most.
