Medicaid Expansion by Any Other Name
WHY THE ‘PRIVATE OPTION’ ISN’T PRIVATE AND SHOULDN’T BE AN OPTION ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion destroys states’ budgets, inflicts serious economic harm, and does little or nothing to help the uninsured. Many officials in “red” states apparently share that view, but the offer of “free” money from the federal government has proven to be extremely tantalizing. Some of these states […]
The History and Lessons of Mutual Aid
WHAT COMES AFTER THE WELFARE STATE? Today the welfare state is omnipresent in every part of the United States. The federal budget is dominated by entitlement spending, with 45 percent of federal spending in 2012 going to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare (among other health care entitlements). Simultaneously, the states are struggling under the fiscal […]
What Would the Founders Do about Medicaid Expansion?
IT’S A QUESTION WORTH ASKING Earlier this month, the Policy Council issued our annual guide to the year’s legislative session, The Best & Worst of the General Assembly. In the introduction to this year’s booklet (which we comment to your attention), we reminded readers that, in our view, the proper goal of legislation “isn’t to […]
Why Did Reform Die in 2013?
WHEN THE ISSUE IS THE PRESERVATION OF POWER, REFORM HASN’T GOT A CHANCE In 2013, despite all the rhetoric with which the legislative year began, lawmakers failed to pass a single reform. The question is: Why? Putting aside any unbecoming motivations lawmakers might have had to resist reforms in ethics law, the state’s government structure, […]
The Health Care Debate in South Carolina
A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE Obamacare by Another Means While the governor and Speaker of the House are promoting what they call an “alternative” to Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid, the truth is that their plan amounts to virtually the same thing. It’s true that the House recently objected to outright Medicaid expansion via the […]
ObamaCare Light?
THE HOUSE GOP ‘ALTERNATIVE’ TO OBAMACARE AND THE WINNERS & LOSERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S HEALTH CARE DEBATE We recently reported that House Republicans introduced an alternative plan to ObamaCare in a Ways and Means budget hearing. Our initial analysis concluded the alternative was little more than a reactionary spending plan that benefited hospitals much more than people. Some […]
“Alternative” Plan to Medicaid Expansion?
“ALTERNATIVE” TO GOVERNMENT SPENDING PLAN TURNS OUT TO BE LESS AMBITIOUS GOVERNMENT SPENDING PLAN. IS THERE A PLAN C? Yesterday the House Republican Caucus met with reporters about a plan to pass an “alternative” to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion by means of the state budget. Rather than making the plan available to the public and […]
Is Medicaid a Job Creator?
INCREASED FEDERAL HANDOUTS AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT … HAVEN’T WE TRIED THAT BEFORE? Through the heated national and state debates over health care policy and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), perhaps the one thing that all parties involved can agree on is that the overall health of Americans has been on the […]
Medicaid Expansion: Who pays?
WHY DO HOSPITALS WANT TO EXPAND MEDICAID? (HINT: IT’S NOT BECAUSE THEY’RE JUST NICE PEOPLE) Hospitals in South Carolina, both individually and under the auspices of the South Carolina Hospital Association, are pushing hard for an expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act popularly known as “Obamacare.” Just how expensive would this expansion […]
The Facts on Medicaid Expansion
WHAT ARE SOUTH CAROLINA’S OPTIONS? Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (widely known as Obamacare) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that the law is constitutional, there has been quite a bit of confusion over what states can and cannot control. The High Court’s opinion gave states the option not to expand their […]
