Tag: steve scalise
Steve Scalise

How Medicaid Cuts Will Harm Workers, Employers -- And The US Economy

How are Republicans trying to sell a bad bill? They tell lie after lie about how only able-bodied adults who refuse to go to work will be affected by their One Big Ugly Bill.

“That single mom that’s working two or three jobs right now to make ends meet under this tough economy, she doesn’t want to have to pay for somebody who’s sitting at home," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said. When Sen. Josh Hawley (R- MO) was asked whether he was worried about working people being thrown off Medicaid because they failed to jump of all the hurdles created by the new legislation, he replied simply, “I’m for work requirements.”

These obfuscations ignore the fact that 92 percent of adults on Medicaid are already working. They work in stores, restaurants, hotels and offices. They serve as home health, nursing home and hospital aides. They build homes, staff warehouses and take the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in manufacturing. They pick our fruits, vegetables and other agricultural commodities.

Why do they need Medicaid? Because their employers are small (less than 50 workers) and do not provide coverage. Or, if they are a large employer and required to at least offer coverage, the firms charge their employees so much in co-premiums that their workers cannot afford it on their measly paychecks. In order to qualify for Medicaid — even in the 39 states and District Columbia that have expanded the program — you have to earn under 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is around $44,000 for a family of four in 2025.


A new report from Families USA found that nearly 20 million American workers are on Medicaid. Nearly half work for firms with less than 50 employees, which are not subject to the Affordable Care Act’s requirement they offer coverage.

Given only half (53%) of small firms even offer health insurance, their employees must turn to either ACA plans or Medicaid (if their wages are very low) for coverage. “Simply put, Medicaid is one of the only options for low-wage workers to get health insurance, and it makes a dramatic difference in these workers’ lives,” the report said.

The demographics of workers on Medicaid

The report also broke out who these low-wage workers are. Women make up a slight majority (56 percent), which isn’t surprising given female predominance in the lowest paid occupations of the retail, health care, education and social service sectors.

The racial share of workers on Medicaid generally reflect the broader society. Fully 46 percent are white; 27 percent are Hispanic; 17 percent are black; and six percent are of Asian descent. The bureaucratic roadblocks to obtaining coverage, which accounts for the vast majority of the 10 million people who will lose coverage over the next decade, will have just as big effect in Red states as in Blue states.

To sum up: Medicaid coverage subsidizes nearly every industry in America and in every state. It helps those industries be more productive since workers on Medicaid have less medical debt, are more able to pay rent and feed their families, and are healthier since they are more likely to seek out preventive care.

“Proposed cuts to Medicaid are therefore a direct threat to essential workers and core American industries,” the report concluded. “By seeking to push people off of Medicaid coverage, this budget bill not only threatens the health and financial security of our nation’s low-wage workers but also the security of our nation’s economy.”

Merrill Goozner is a former editor of Modern Healthcare, where he writes a weekly column. He is a former reporter for The Chicago Tribune and professor of business journalism at New York University. Please consider subscribing to his Substack.

Reprinted with permission from Gooz News.

Surprise! Kevin McCarthy Says He Is 'Willing' To Run For Speaker Again

Surprise! Kevin McCarthy Says He Is 'Willing' To Run For Speaker Again

Ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy flip-flopped on Monday, saying he was open to taking the gavel back amid a Chernobyl-level meltdown in the Republican Party over the crisis in Israel.

Last week, shortly after a small band of MAGA maniacs engineered his ouster, McCarthy stated he would not seek the post again.

But that was last week. “Whatever the conference wants, I will do,” McCarthy told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt during an interview on Monday.

The prospect of McCarthy being reinstated solely with the votes of Republicans seems highly unlikely after his primary right-wing foe, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, achieved hero-level status among some MAGA faithful for ejecting McCarthy. McCarthy would need at least four of the eight Republican nihilists who voted him out last week to have a sudden change of heart.

McCarthy's cynical play to regain the speakership comes as House Republicans war with each other over their inability to provide extra aid to Israel after Hamas’ attack over the weekend. Nine Americans have been confirmed killed in the fighting, and there are unverified reports of potential American hostages—claims that McCarthy immediately sought to capitalize on.

"Our top priority right now must be to rescue all American hostages," he tweeted out Monday morning. "The Biden Administration cannot repeat the failures of Afghanistan. NO American left behind!"

McCarthy's potential successors are working overtime to cast themselves as the answer to the Republican-led predicament. “Make no mistake: The United States will always stand with Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East,” Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana tweeted out Saturday. And Sunday on Fox News, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio pledged that his first priority as speaker would be to help Israel. Both Scalise and Jordan are further right than McCarthy, and Jordan—the biggest chaos agent of the trio—has won the backing of former President Donald Trump.

House Republican infighting has ground the lower chamber to a halt due to the absence of a speaker. But now, instead of the House caucus simply making a binary choice between Jordan and Scalise for a new speaker, McCarthy is back in the mix. Nothing but further delay and pandemonium can come of that.

In the meantime, American priorities at home and allies around the globe will suffer the consequences.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Who Will Replace Kevin McCarthy? Just Keep Your Expectations Low

Who Will Replace Kevin McCarthy? Just Keep Your Expectations Low

Having bounced poor Kevin McCarthy out of office — a moment that might have been painful if the former speaker possessed a spine — House Republicans now face the difficult prospect of choosing a replacement. Perhaps we can look forward to another clownish spectacle like the 15 rounds of voting and haggling that produced Speaker McCarthy, whose only distinctions are how briefly he served and how humiliating his historic departure turned out to be. (Getting punked by the likes of Rep. Matt Gaetz is truly special.)

For the rest of America, the question that inevitably arises is whether the upcoming contest really matters at all. Will it make much difference when McCarthy is replaced by his former deputy Steve Scalise, whom he reportedly loathed, or Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, whom he unaccountably liked, or some other zany far-right legislator? Probably not, although Scalise is reputed to be more "reasonable" than Jordan, who appears to be certifiable.

Neither of these would-be leaders — or any alternative candidate — will lift the House Republican caucus out of the mental and moral chaos that they have made the new normal for Congress.

Whatever Scalise or Jordan may promise, we already know what congressional Republicans will do, because we've watched this movie for decades and nothing has changed except some of the names. We know what they will do and what they can't or won't do.

Among the many things they don't do well is pass legislation, no matter how vital to the nation's security and prosperity, because they have failed to absorb any of the basic lessons of group dynamics that most people learn in kindergarten. Not only do Republicans reject compromise, but they're offended by the very idea.

That's why so many of them admire Jordan, who has literally never passed a single bill during eight terms on Capitol Hill and is rated one of America's least effective legislators. (It's worth comparing him to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader who is rated among the most effective members in either party.)

The Republican allergy to legislative achievement — unless they are cutting taxes for wealthy donors — also suggests that Jordan and Scalise aren't serious about reducing deficits, defending our borders or fighting crime, which they proclaim as their priorities. The problems defined by those buzz phrases require complex solutions that reflect the realities of a large, diverse country, not Fox News sound bites. It's not what they do.

Among the other things that these Republicans won't do is protect the institution of Congress. Jordan flaunted his lack of respect for constitutional principle when he dodged a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Instead, he displayed his sympathy for those who attacked the Capitol — and did his best to undermine confidence in our elections. As for Scalise, he is best known for the tragic shooting that almost took his life several years ago, and for an unfortunate but pithy moment of self-awareness, when he told someone that he is "David Duke without the baggage." Coming from the Klan leader's home state of Louisiana, he knows exactly what that means. Neither he nor Jordan are suitable figures to unite their caucus, let alone the Congress or the country.

Over the past few decades, Republicans like Jordan and Scalise have displayed a knack for certain categories of congressional action (or inaction), and we can expect more of the same from either of them. They're quite adept at shutting down the government they are supposed to steward, and that will surely be their first big achievement under a new speaker. They're always ready to back down from bullies, such as former President Donald Trump or the National Rifle Association, no matter how wrong and damaging that may be. They're well practiced at enabling extremists, authoritarians, crooks and bigots, notably including their own members like Reps. Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, George Santos and Lauren Boebert. They're perennially eager to isolate and punish vulnerable minorities, from impoverished immigrants to gays, lesbians and trans people.

Just keep your expectations low and these Republican "leaders" will never disappoint you.

To find out more about Joe Conason, editor-in-chief of The National Memo, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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