Medicaid, the federal insurance available only to the poorest Americans, could be available to a few middle-class Americans under the new, hotly-argued against healthcare laws.
Americans the country over a pleased we have caught up to the rest of civilized world in removing expensive insurance companies from the equation. Just kidding! The Medicare’s Medicare chief actuary Richard Foster actually can’t sleep because the thought of people seeing the doctor without having to sell something dear to them is very upsetting indeed. Several news sources for the story report that people making as much as $64,000 could qualify for Medicaid. Is the Tea Party crying into their Jalapeno Zingers and Nascar yet?
$64,000. That sounds like a lot of money, doesn’t it? Except in New York, where I live, whole-family insurance costs well over $1,000 a month. The high-deductible kind. So right there, that’s about a fifth of their income. Not including medicines. Not including co-pays of like $50, which you find with a lot of these plans that basically only cover big stuff, and hospitalizations. If you drop that down to $50,000, that’s more than 25% of income. Plus the co-pays and medications. OMG, this is an OUTRAGE. We would save a lot more money if we just gave those people some bootstraps.
MSNBC has the full quote:
Medicare chief actuary Richard Foster said the situation was keeping him up at night.
“I don’t generally comment on the pros or cons of policy, but that just doesn’t make sense,” Foster said during a question-and-answer session at a recent professional society meeting.
“This is a situation that got no attention at all,” added Foster. “And even now, as I raise the issue with various policymakers, people are not rushing to say … we need to do something about this.”
Do you hear that? NO ONE CARES. This is big, people. Undeservings might get to see a doctor! Something must be done. Luckily, HHS is on it:
“We are concerned that, as a matter of law, some middle-income Americans may be receiving coverage through Medicaid, which is meant to serve only the neediest Americans,” said Health and Human Services spokesman Richard Sorian. “We are exploring options to address this issue.”
Also, Orrin Hatch called the circumstance “unacceptable.” Hey Canada, can I come live with you guys?
