Perry: Obama’s detainee move a reason to disbelieve federal Medicaid money will flow

Perry: Obama’s detainee move a reason to disbelieve federal Medicaid money will flow as promised

By Robert T. Garrett
Staff Writer
Published: 27 March 2013 01:48 PM
dallasnews.com

Gov. Rick Perry is standing firm in opposition to Medicaid expansion, and using a recent Obama administration action to say people shouldn’t trust the federal government.

In this op-ed piece in USA Today on Wednesday, Perry cites the release of about 2,200 detainees by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency as a reason to disbelieve federal officials will make good on the health care law’s promise of full federal funding of adding low-income adults to states’ Medicaid programs between 2014 and 2017, and at least 90 percent of costs thereafter.

“We recently saw thousands of criminal aliens released within our borders in a federally sponsored jailbreak because the federal government said it just couldn’t afford to deport them,” Perry wrote. “If Washington can blithely break such an integral promise as national security, we’re skeptical that it will keep funding an expanded Medicaid system, which will cost tens of billions in federal and state revenue in the years to come.”

Federal immigration officials blamed the release on a funding cut caused by the “sequestration,” or automatic federal cuts that began to take effect this month.

Perry also said there aren’t enough participating doctors for the newly eligible adults to receive treatment, even if they receive Medicaid cards.

However, he overstated the findings of a Texas Medical Association survey. Receiving responses from only a small percentage of its members, the association last year found that only 31 percent said they would accept ALL new Medicaid patients. However, as I noted in this Medicaid fact check recently, 57 percent accept some Medicaid patients.

Perry: Obama’s detainee move a reason to disbelieve federal Medicaid money will flow as promised | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News

A cousin of my husbands is a orthopedic surgeon and now practices in Toronto. He has student loans to pay and couldn't afford to stay here. He moved to Canada a few years ago when Obama care passed and the low reimbursement from medicare. He said a lot of the Dr.s were debating and he knew that he better get out of here when they offered him the position. The majority of the care you will receive will be from R.N.'s and P.A.'s seldom will you see an actual Dr. There might be one actual Dr. running 5 or 6 offices.
The US is rated 38th in healthcare worldwide right now. Wait a couple of years and watch that drop even more and we will still be paying premiums higher than any other country in the world. I have no doubts they will use things like they all ready have tried putting a cap on malpractice (that really helped keep cost down) for the malpractice insurance companies. 1% of our premiums went to malpractice cost, big savings there. Allowing insurance companies to charge higher fees for smokers. Until we can call to compare services and prices like any other country in the world, we will be left with the sticker shock for the cost of our medical treatments after the fact.