Just in….WORD is there are not enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill (despite promises of special deals and pork barrel projects)
We need to put pressure on Senate majority leader Randy Richardville. He makes the decision to bring it to a vote. He SHOULD NOT bring it to a vote unless he said a “majority of the majority” which he does NOT have!
LET SENATOR RICHARDVILLE KNOW, YOU OPPOSE THE MEDICAID EXPANSION!
Contact Information for Senator Richardville is
By Phone: (517) 373-3543 By Fax: (517) 373-0927
SenRichardville@senate.michigan.gov
Watch or listen to the Senate Session live HERE
~ ALSO ~
From Tea Party of West Michigan’s (formerly/http://www.teapartyofwmi.org/) Tina DuPont and MEDEFCO
Senators who need to hear from us are:
Tom Casperson 517.373.7840
Dave Hildebrande 517.1801
Howard Walker 517.373.2413
Mark Jensen 517.373.5236 (Jensen is on the fence – we need to get him on the “right” side.)
John Pappageorge 517.373.2523
Find Your Senator HERE
Be polite
Be prepared to offer some reason why you are against the Expansion
Below is a list of talking points that counters the claims
“the law of the land”
Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake,was quoted as saying, “I believe it’s time to stop playing defense on something that’s the law of the land and begin playing offense,” Shirkey said.
Rep Shirkey made a mistake. The Medicaid Expansion is NOT the law of the land. The SCOTUS ruled that the Expansion was unconstitutionally coercive of states and that the states did not have to Expand Medicaid. This is also the reason that states could not be forced to create a state ObamaCare Insurance Exchange
In other words,to expand Medicaid is a CHOICE for all the states.
13 states NOT PARTICIPATING Alabama, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Oklahoma,Pennsylvania, South Carolina,South Dakota,Texas,Wisconsin
6 states are LEANING TOWARD NOT PARTICIPATING Alaska, Nebraska,Utah,Virginia,Wyoming
“This makes sense for the physical and fiscal health of Michigan…Expansion will create more access to primary care providers, reduce the burden on hospitals and small businesses, and save precious tax dollars.” Gov. Rick Snyder, Feb. 06, 2013
“This makes sense for the physical and fiscal health of Michigan”
The ObamaCare Medicaid Expansion is one the largest expansion of government with huge price tag for Michigan citizens. Currently, Medicaid is 25% of Michigan’s total budget and 80% of DCH. In the short term Michigan would see extra Federal dollars but its short term.
In “An Analysis of the Proposed Medicaid Expansion in Michigan” formerly http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23278 by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) Among their findings, “
Assuming that about 70 percent — around 124,000 — of these newly eligible sign up for Medicaid, the additional cost during the following decade would be $475 million to state taxpayers and nearly $7 billion to federal taxpayers.
A Medicaid expansion would likely shift many insurance costs being borne by the private sector to state taxpayers.
“Expansion will create more access to primary care providers,”
Expanding Medicaid may not improve health outcomes ~
A new NEJM study suggests Medicaid might not improve health care outcomes, raising a flurry of questions for researchers and new doubts about the ACA’s planned Medicaid expansion.
According to the latest update from the much-watched Oregon Health Study—which involves researchers from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the National Bureau of Economic Research—obtaining health insurance appeared to lower catastrophic medical expenses and reduce mental health problems for previously uninsured patients.(obtained data from 6387 adults who were randomly selected to be able to apply for Medicaid coverage and 5842 adults who were not selected.)
More doctors say they will not accept Medicaid patients. If a doctor is paid $100 to see a patient with private insurance, $70 to see a Medicare patient, and $56 to see a Medicaid patient, which kind of patient is he most likely to want to see? “In-Depth: Medicaid expansion may aggravate M.D. shortage” ( To entice doctors to participate, the federal health law this year temporarily increased pay for those providing primary care services to the same level as Medicare rates — an average 70% pay raise. The pay raise only lasts through 2014, which has limited its effectiveness)
“…reduce the burden on hospitals”
Opposition to Medicaid expansion is getting a boost from an unlikely source—President Barack Obama.
President Obama released his proposed federal budget Wednesday. It includes a one-year delay in reduction of “disproportionate share” Medicaid payments — money hospitals receive for treating large numbers of uninsured patients. Bryant: Obama Budget Undercuts Medicaid Expansion
“reduce the burden on…..small businesses” SOME TRUTH TO THIS CLAIM
In states that choose not to expand Medicaid, small businesses may be liable for substantial penalties.
The National Federation of Independent Business (who oppose the Expansion) is asking the IRS to exempt small businesses from those fines. “A business should not face expensive penalties for state and regulatory decisions beyond their control,” the group wrote in a March 18 statement to the IRS.
However, this could have been avoided in great measure. The Story Behind the Biggest Mistake in Obamacare
By making the Medicaid expansion optional, the Court exposed this obscure mistake that had been buried in 906 pages of legislation. And it created a huge loophole: In states that aren’t expanding Medicaid, those “in-betweeners” — residents who make between 100 and 138 percent of the poverty line — will now qualify for tax subsidies to buy private insurance instead…..
Wisconsin*: Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Feb. 13 announced his rejection of the Medicaid expansion. He proposed an alternative plan that would expand coverage to low-income state residents through private health care exchanges (Spicuzza, Wisconsin State Journal, 2/13….bumping thousands of people from such programs to federal government-run health care exchanges where they can buy private insurance.
Michigan COULD have done this…In the short term, Let the Feds ALONE paid for Expansion as Michigan by default with go to a Federal Facilitated ObamaCare Exchange IF a broke and in debt Federal government IF THEY CAN!
~More Information on the Medicaid Expansion ~
Search the site, Search for “Medicaid
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