Posts

Alaska Medicaid Expansion Would Significantly Increase Taxpayer-Funded Abortions

/2 Comments/in , /by

baby-cute-pictures-17This morning the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the education and research arm of the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, published a new paper examining how expansion of the Medicaid program in Alaska will significantly increase the number of abortions in the state. The analysis comes as the Alaska legislature considers a law that would expand Medicaid enrollment.

Alaska is one of 17 states that funds abortion through Medicaid. According to CLI Associate Scholar Michael J. New, Ph.D. who authored the paper, the expansion would increase the state abortion rate in at least four ways. The expansion will:

• Add between 10,000 and 15,000 women of childbearing age onto the program, which already funds a high percentage of abortions in Alaska.

• Result in more Medicaid-eligible women leaving non-abortion-covering insurance plans to enroll in the abortion-covering Medicaid program.

• End the incentive for women to carry their children to term since an expansion would allow for childless low-income women who seek an abortion to remain on Medicaid.

• Increase the amount of taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider whose Alaska affiliates perform a substantial amount of the state’s abortions.

The full text of the new paper may be found here.

“Alaska already has one of the highest rates of publicly funded abortions in the country,” said Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute. “Expanding the Medicaid program will encourage and incentivize abortion for low-income women and further devalue life in the state. Overall, Dr. New’s analysis validates prior concerns from pro-life groups about an increase of taxpayer-funded abortions under Obamacare, particularly when those states expand their Medicaid program under the health care law.”

An initial analysis by CLI from 2013 calculated that overall about 6 million women could potentially gain coverage for abortion under Obamacare, with half of those due to state Medicaid expansion. In 2014, CLI joined with Family Research Council to launch ObamacareAbortion.com, an online resource for the general public to make up for the administration’s lack of transparency on abortion coverage in health insurance plans.

Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony List. CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women. (See ” Alaska Medicaid Expansion Would Significantly Increase Taxpayer-Funded Abortions”, originally posted HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Governor’s Medicaid Expansion will “Destroy the Budget, Wipe Out the PFD & Bring Taxation”

/2 Comments/in , /by

Lance Roberts_1998The legislature has just been called back by the Governor for a special session, with two of the topics being Medicaid Expansion and the Budget. The legislature is being bombarded by requests for more money and to expand the Medicaid system. The State is currently looking at an approximately four billion dollar deficit, a number that is understandably hard to get your head around. In essence, we’ll be completely out of money before 2020, excepting the Permanent Fund. Yes, it’s that bad, but yet there are many voices out there crying for the legislature to spend what little we have now and not make the hard decisions. A good example of a bad program that needs drastic reform is Medicaid.

Currently in Alaska we spend $1.6 billion per year on Medicaid. It has grown 149% in the last 10 years, and will eventually overwhelm the entire budget including education. Expansion will add around 40,000 people to those rolls and by 2022 is estimated to cost the state around $36 million, with a total cost up to then of around $109 million. Medicaid is admitted even by its proponents, like the Governor, to be a broken system; in fact, its level of brokenness is like a helicopter crashing in some new action movie where the blade goes off spinning and destroying all in its path. No exaggeration, it is on course to destroy the Alaskan State budget, wiping out the PFD and bringing in unnecessary taxation.

From a philosophical viewpoint, expansion’s design dis-incentivizes the young adults under thirty that would be the main recipients of it from pushing themselves to find better jobs or build businesses that would allow them a higher level of healthcare. Actually, it’s not just philosophical, based on last year’s election results. In 2014, Alaskans voted to not just raise minimum wage, but to unsustainably raise it every single year. Currently those on minimum wage will be eligible for Medicaid, but in 2017 those working full-time for minimum wage will exceed the eligible income for Medicaid. The choice then will be keep Medicaid or keep a full-time job. This is a huge problem that exists for these types of entitlement programs, that anyone who tries to better themselves financially loses the benefits, thereby offsetting the benefits of working. Why in the world would we want to expand a system to young single adults that encourages them not to work or improve their situation?

Another aspect that has been overlooked by many is that Medicaid pays more than Medicare, for senior citizens, and Tricare, for military families and veterans, so those few doctors who are left that see patients on that program will make more by serving Medicaid patients than those on Medicare or Tricare. This will only make it harder for senior citizens, veterans and our military families to be able to get the health care they need.

There are way more broken aspects of Medicaid, fraud and abuse, than can be addressed in this short article, but it’s consistently shown that reform is mandatory to be able to even keep the Medicaid system we have in place, let alone add more people to that system. The State needs to work out the large amount of billing problems it has, and implement some cost controls. Be wary, some are proposing reforms, which are really just taxes, like up to a 6% tax on providers, even if they don’t have Medicaid patients.

There are also problems with how Medicaid pays out much less than the costs of doing business; for example, the Fairbanks North Star Borough only gets approximately half of what it costs us to do an ambulance run. These underpayments add up considerably and contribute substantially to the high cost of medical care.

Remember when they talk about all the free Federal money that we’ll get: There’s Free Cheese in a Mouse Trap. Please let the legislature know that we need to reform Medicaid before we even think of expanding it. You can email them all at [email protected].

____________________________________________________

Lance Roberts is an engineer, born and raised in Fairbanks. He is a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly. The views expressed here are his own and do not represent the assembly or borough administration.

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Why Does Washington Post, USA Today, NPR and the AP Get Its ‘Science’ Talking Points From a Convicted Felon Who Went to Prison for Medicaid Fraud?

/1 Comment/in , /by

Dr-OZ-Show-LogoIn recent days, Columbia University’s School of Journalism announced its 2015 Pulitzer Prize winners, and the list contained many of the usual suspects.

The New York Times picked up a couple more awards for a political corruption story, Ebola coverage and international reportage; The Wall Street Journal won for an investigative hit piece against healthcare providers who manipulate Medicare; the Los Angeles Times won for reporting how the state’s extreme drought has affected the “human condition”; a smaller South Carolina paper won a prize for reporting violence against women; the St. Louis Post-Dispatch picked up a Pulitzer for photography during the Ferguson riots; some guy won the Poetry Pulitzer for revealing the “scope of African-American experience” through poems that drew from “slave narratives.”

And so forth. In other words, these mainstream papers “went after” stories where reporters and editors had already decided the outcome, and as usual, Columbia University rewarded their pre-conceived orthodoxy as members of the journalistic “cool kids club.”

Why does this matter? Because it helps explain how a man like Dr. Oz could be so savagely attacked by a media so willing to pile on this suddenly not-so-cool kid without bothering to actually investigate the charges being made against him and, more importantly, by whom: When you’re out of “the club,” the cool kids have already decided you must be guilty as charged because that sounds about right.

As noted by U.S. Right to Know (USRTK), a non-profit organization advocating for more openness in the food industry, recent hit pieces against Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of a popular daytime television program that often focuses on bogus conventional health treatments and alternative medicine choices, were perpetrated willingly by a mainstream media too trusting of “establishment” medical sources, most likely because Dr. Oz doesn’t toe the cool club line. (Read more from “Why Does Washington Post, USA Today, NPR and the AP Get Its ‘Science’ Talking Points From a Convicted Felon Who Went to Prison for Medicaid Fraud?” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Alaskan Crossroads: Massive Medicaid Expansion will Only Result in Misery [+video]

/0 Comments/in , , /by

It has come to my attention that the republican controlled legislature is seriously considering supporting the governors call for an expansion of the Medicaid program here in Alaska.

An expansion of Medicaid will usher in the necessity for new revenue streams in order to pay for this program. We are seriously looking at a substantial fiscal shortfall now. The last thing we need to do is to expand any programs which would put an extra financial burden on the citizens of this state. (“Alaskan Crossroads” continues below)

________________________________________________________________

Listen to the Foundation for Government Accountability Skewer Governor Walker’s Medicaid expansion plan:

The Joe Miller Show broadcasts weekdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Alaska Time (6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST), on 1080 AM and 95.1 FM, Anchorage. It is also carried via live streaming at JoeMiller.us. Podcasts from prior shows are found HERE. If you’d like to advertise on or sponsor The Joe Miller Show, please email [email protected]
________________________________________________________________

Before we remotely consider expanding the federal Medicaid program, perhaps we should demand the federal government fully fund their own mandated health care programs.

As an example, the Indian Health Services through the BIA is currently being funded at approximately 55%. The inability of the federal government to fully fund a medical program they are 100% obligated to, is putting massive pressure on ANMC and native health services throughout the state. Currently ANMC is unable to field the personnel they need so many doctors and nurses in their organization are met with massive overtime and are not compensated at the level of other health services in the area. ANMC is having a very difficult time recruiting and training personnel to stay in their ranks specifically due to the shortcomings of funding through Indian Health Services.

Additionally, Medicaid expansion into the native community is clearly a mechanism to absorb the Indian Health Services into Obamacare. It is a method the Obama administration is using to drive up Obamacare numbers in order to preserve President Obama’s legacy with his signature legislation.

Certainly, it would be far more advantageous for the State of Alaska to demand that the Federal Government fund their own programs fully before they come selling other programs when they clearly intend to transfer the financial burden to us.

Here are just a few questions I would like every state legislator to answer before they consider voting to expand Medicaid:

1. Do you know the amount the State of Alaska will currently be forced to pay based on the shortfall?

2. Do you know the amount the State of Alaska will pay in two years when this program goes to 90% funded?

3. Do you know the rate of decrease over the next ten years regarding the federal government’s commitment?

4. Do you know the penalty of “opting out” if this program becomes economically unsustainable at a state level.

5. What additional revenues are you planning in order to meet the increased obligations?

6. Do you know this program may have an adverse effect on employers dropping healthcare on employees who qualify?

7. Do you know the rate Medicaid will pay and if medical institutions and doctors will accept patients at a lower level of reimbursement?

8. Are you aware of the substantial administrative costs passed to the medical profession in order to implement such program?


Any legislator who votes for expansion is voting to either implement a state income tax or raid the PFD in order to sustain this program. Their term in office may recede into the historical library of the legislature, but Alaskan’s will be forced into paying this government expansion of healthcare in perpetuity.

It is my considered opinion that expanding Medicaid in Alaska is a short sighted gain for a long term loss. Within a very short period Alaskans will be paying for additional revenues to comply to the federal mandate of matching funds. It will be economically impossible to “opt out.”
________________________________________________________________

Michael Chambers is a former educator in Alaska, currently the Chair of the Alaska Libertarian Party, Chair of United for Liberty, and a self employed professional artist.

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Medicaid Payment Crisis Highlights Major Flaws in Obamacare

/2 Comments/in , /by

By Jennifer Popik. The Medicaid program, which provides insurance coverage for lower income Americans, has expanded under the Obama Health Care law and now covers over one-fifth of Americans. Yet it is now set to face big cuts in the new year . . .

The Obama Health Care law (Obamacare) contains a self-contradictory approach to both increase the number of Americans with health insurance, but also to limit the amount of money allowed to be spent on health care . . .

To increase coverage, one approach the Administration used was initially to funnel large amounts of money into state Medicaid programs so that states could expand who they covered–but then cut back on the funds . . .

According to the Pear article, “The impact will vary by state, but a study by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, estimates that doctors who have been receiving the enhanced payments will see their fees for primary care cut by 43 percent, on average.” (Read more about the major flaws in Obamacare HERE)

__________________________________

Obamacare Architects Furious Over Not Being Exempt from Obamacare

By Tyler Durden. The brain incubator at Harvard, the place which according to legend, and certainly the US News and World Report’s annual paid college infomercial, is the repository for some of the smartest people in the world, is furious.

The reason – Harvard’s illustrious faculty has learned that they too will be subject to their own policy recommendations as relates to Obamacare, which they themselves helped conceive. As the left-leaning NYT reported earlier today, “for years, Harvard’s experts on health economics and policy have advised presidents and Congress on how to provide health benefits to the nation at a reasonable cost. But those remedies will now be applied to the Harvard faculty, and the professors are in an uproar.”

Because Harvard’s brilliant ivory tower economists and public policy wonks know precisely how to fix the world… as long as said fix never applies to them.

And sure enough, the faculty did everything in its power to make sure it never had to suffer the consequences of its own brilliance… (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

More Proof Obamacare Is Increasing Coverage, but Not Access to Health Care

/1 Comment/in , /by

ELDERLY AMERICANS DRUGS MEDICATION SENIORS HEALTHMany of Obamacare’s beneficiaries have already discovered or will eventually discover that there’s a big difference between insurance coverage and access to health care services.

Today, the New York Times highlighted a report by the Department of Health and Human Services that shows access to care in the Medicaid program is very limited.

The study, conducted between July 2013 and October 2013, concludes that more than half of providers could not offer appointments to Medicaid managed care enrollees with 35 percent of providers listed under an erroneous location. Nor were those the only issues, according to the report:

Among the providers who offered appointments, the median wait time was 2 weeks. However, over a quarter had wait times of more than 1 month, and 10 percent had wait times longer than 2 months. Finally, primary care providers were less likely to offer an appointment than specialists; however, specialists tended to have longer wait times.

Read more from this story HERE.

Medicaid Paid $12 Million for Deceased People in Illinois

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Ano Lobb

Photo Credit: Ano Lobb

The Illinois Medicaid program paid an estimated $12 million for medical services for people listed as deceased in other state records, according to an internal state government memo.

The memo dated Friday, which The Associated Press obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, says the state auditor compared clients enrolled in the Medicaid database last June with state death records dating back to 1970. Auditors identified overpayments for services to roughly 2,900 people after the date of their deaths.

The heads of the departments of Healthcare and Family Services and Human Services, the two state agencies involved with Medicaid payments, outline steps to fix the problem in the memo to their senior staffs.

The memo states that more than $7 million has been recovered and the rest is expected to be recouped by year’s end.

Sen. Dale Righter, a Republican from Mattoon and the Senate GOP’s point person on Medicaid reform, said the finding was further evidence that Democrats’ arguments that they have done all they can to clean up the Medicaid rolls is “empty rhetoric.”

Read more from this story HERE.

In Bold Move, Alaska’s Governor Stands Up to Chamber of Commerce, AFN, and Obama, Says No to Medicaid Expansion

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP/Mark ThiessenAlaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) said Friday his state will not expand Medicaid under President Obama’s signature health-care law after a report estimated it would cost the state about $200 million over seven years.

“I believe a costly Medicaid expansion, especially on top of the broken Obamacare system, is a hot mess,” Parnell said at a news conference on Friday. “The bottom line is: Obamacare failed to launch, is failing to deliver on its promises, and remains in disarray. We simply cannot bail out this failed experiment by expanding Medicaid.”

Groups ranging from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce to the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium had pushed Parnell to move toward expanding Medicaid. But Parnell, who is seeking reelection in 2014, won praise from state Republicans, who oppose expansion.

Expanding Medicaid in Alaska would have made about 40,000 residents with an income of 138 percent of the federal poverty level or less eligible for coverage. The federal government would have initially provided 100 percent of the costs of an expansion, dropping to 90 percent by 2020.

But the federal government would have covered more of the costs in Alaska than in other states, because the federal government covers 100 percent of the costs for Native Americans in Alaska, according to the Anchorage Daily News. About 17,000 of the 40,000 who would have been eligible under the expansion are Alaska Natives.

Read more from this story HERE.

Medicare Cuts, Obamacare Prompt Hospital Layoffs

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Many hospitals are slashing jobs and cutting patient services citing Medicare cuts, the difficult health care landscape, and the Affordable Care Act as the reasons behind their decision.

Over a dozen hospitals have announced job cuts in the past three weeks, the Washington Free Beacon found. Some hospitals announced they would close altogether, while others are downsizing and eliminating some of their services.

Connecticut’s Lawrence + Memorial Hospital announced last week it was cutting 33 jobs, citing the “sheer magnitude” of payment cuts from both Medicare and Medicaid.

“L+M and other hospitals are contending with massive structural changes that are happening very rapidly,” hospital president and CEO Bruce D. Cummings said in a statement. “We are also experiencing unexpected—and previously unbudgeted—cuts in federal (Medicare) and state (Medicaid) funding. “

“The sheer magnitude of the Medicare and Medicaid cuts impel us to look at all of our services and costs, including the largest component of our budget—personnel,” Cummings said, citing a 20 percent cut in Medicaid proposed by Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy and approved by the state legislature resulting in a $550 million hit to Connecticut hospitals. Sequestration also resulted in an additional $1 million loss for L + M this year.

Read more from this story HERE.

Governor Jan Brewer Defies Arizona Conservatives, Rams Through Obama’s Medicaid Expansion

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: State Rep. Jeff Dial

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer won a battle with state lawmakers this week, defying most other conservatives in her party to get a key component of President Obama’s Medicaid expansion through the Legislature.

The Arizona Senate voted Thursday to approve the measure 18 to 11. That followed approval earlier this week by the state House of Representatives.

The issue had inflamed passions and divided the Legislature for weeks. Things came to a head Tuesday when Brewer called lawmakers into the Capitol in Phoenix for a surprise special session.

Brewer — a vocal opponent of President Obama’s healthcare reform law — came out in support of Medicaid expansion for her state in January and ended up leading a contingent of moderate Democrats and Republicans who won over the objections of some conservative Republicans.

“By joining me in extending health coverage to hundreds of thousands of Arizonans, legislators of my own party have come under sharp criticism in some quarters. Some have had threats made not just against their political future, but also their personal livelihood,” Brewer said in a prepared statement.

Read more from this story HERE.