On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
I discuss this bill as a doctor who has been treating the uninsured for 20 years. Now, opponents of repeal argue that this gives Americans insurance, but what in truth it often gives is Medicaid. Now, Medicaid is a Federal-State program, which is often called 'welfare medicine,' and it is a program which is destroying State budgets. Last spring, the New York Times spoke about how this has implications for patient care. They spoke of a woman on Michigan Medicaid with metastatic cancer who could not find an oncologist because Michigan Medicaid had been cut so much because of Michigan's budget problems. Carol died a week after the article. That's Medicaid. Now, the supporters of the ObamaCare bill believe that more people on Medicaid is good. Republicans disagree because what happened in Michigan is happening across the Nation. Last year, before this bill was passed, 20 States cut Medicaid payments, and 39 cut provider payments. This is threatening to bankrupt them. Now imagine what happens when their rolls double. Mandating that 16 million more Americans get put on Medicaid is not health care; it is a way around State budgets. It is the illusion of coverage for patients. Let's repeal this law and pass real reform.
