Blog

“Next time someone says the Tea Party is insignificant,

tell them to ask Israel.”

Thursday, a true David and Goliath story unfolded at the Capitol. Limited government activists, managed a stunning upset when the Senate adjourned without voting on the Medicaid Expansion bill (HB 4714) ,despite a frenzy of lobbying by Governor Snyder and BIG Health.

Governor Snyder had enlisted the aid (archived link) of the “death panel of one” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to try to get the reluctant legislators to vote for the expansion.

The Governor cut his trip to Israel short to come back to employ a method of persuasion that most probably included pork barrel projects and special deals to those Senators still known to be on the fence.

Yet despite all those machinations by the Governor and his people and an army of paid corporate lobbyist, ordinary citizen activists, called, emailed, faxed, personally lobbied at the Capitol, and attended Committee Meetings and prevailed.  Not only to fight against this terrible bill but to remind legislators that they have a duty to the people of Michigan, and their constituents, to a Party Platform, a banner they choose to run under for office,  and not a letter (R) or Governor who unfortunately was (and has) pushed a Liberal and minority agenda.

Tim Skubick of “Off the Record” said in an interview on WWJ: “Legislators are telling me that the health insurance lobby has about 50 lobbyists here, and the TEA party has about five. And the TEA party is winning.”

Although we scored an amazing victory, it was a battle won and not the war. Senate Majority leader, Randy Richardville issued this statement formerly/http://www.misenategop.com/readarticle.asp?id=6002&District=17Thursday.

“The debate and discussion regarding reforming Medicaid in Michigan is not over.  Members of my caucus have been working hard to improve upon something that was hoisted upon us by a federal government that had very little consideration for the impact of this program on the taxpayers of Michigan.  We owe it to our neighbors and communities to thoroughly review this issue and consider alternatives to the current proposal.

The legislation will be referred to committee and a legislative workgroup will spend the summer reviewing the current legislation and proposals offered by my colleagues that seek to improve upon the tremendous work that has already been done.”

So our battle will continue, to educate legislators, who still apparently believe that a Medicaid Expansion is “hoisted upon us by a federal government”

It is not.

The Medicaid Expansion is NOT the law of the land. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that the Expansion was unconstitutionally coercive of states  “in taking away all the states’ funds for the entirety of its Medicaid program just because it disagreed with with a piece of the program.”

So the ruling gave the states a choice, to expand Medicaid or not to expand Medicaid. Also, “a state can refuse to participate in the expansion without losing all of its current Medicaid funds.”

This is also the reason that states could not be forced to create a state ObamaCare Insurance Exchange

Medicaid Expansion is a CHOICE for all the states.

Medicaid Expansion can not be “improved upon”. The only solution is to just say NO to the Expansion. And then work towards real remedies, free market and voluntary, insurance reform as the states do regulate their own insurance that leaves the government out of our health care decisions and our wallets, which so far are only remedies the Governor is unwilling to consider.

Joan Fabiano
Founder, Grassroots in Michigan