Insure TN: To vote for Obamacare or not?
2/1/15
0848 am
Will our legislators and elected officials vote for Obamacare or not?
Medicaid expansion, Obamacaid, Haslamacaid, or Insure TN. Regardless of the name, it still requires a vote and it will receive the majority of it’s funding via the Affordable Care Act, ie, Obamacare.
Tn Governor Bill Haslam is touring the State attempting to draw support for his version of Obamacare where all able bodied subjects sign up for “free” healthcare and the Tn taxpayer gets to pay for it via Federal funds, higher taxes or skyrocketing premiums.
It has been said that Haslam has back doored a deal with the Obama administration to expand Medicaid, Obamacare into Tennessee. This is the most disturbing part of this story. It even appears that the GOP has even stepped and said ” if republicans want to vote for Obamacare, we, the GOP elite will have your back when the people strike back against you for inching us further into socialism.” Where are we when the “opposing” party is acting like this?
Does anyone recall what happened when Medicaid was expanded in 1990 and in 1994? We nearly bankrupted the state. By 2000 Medicaid was consuming about 36 percent of the states budget prompting the state legislature to propose a state income tax to cover costs. Of course this measure didn’t pass and we ended up dis-enrolling 170,000 to make ends meet.
The current Medicaid system has very few checks and balances. The poor basically have free reign of the healthcare system and are not shy about consuming frequently and without restraint they boast about abusing it. Costs will soar because there are very few restraints or limits on its use. Just ask any caregiver what a “regular” is.
Wanna make a difference? Put limits on Medicaid on the consumption end! Problem solved. Patients are abusing it like a crackhead on the pipe. It’s the if it’s free I’m gonna use it mentality. We will never be able to control costs for hundreds of thousands of new enrollees. Our healthcare system is not built for restraint. Patients seek it and caregivers give it in hopes enough bad debt write offs will balance the budget.
Critics and the left say “If we don’t accept the terms of Obamacare someone else will get the money or we will have to pay for it out of our own pocket!” Guess what? We will not lose any money nor will anyone else get it. And we are already absorbing the poors costs and taking real good care of the indigent population regardless of their ability to pay. This measure will only encourage the poor populace in TN to knock other people down getting to that “free” healthcare. Costs soar and we are left with the bill. To think this will help anyone is absurd.
With expansion of Obamacaid to an estimated 200,000 poor Tennesseans, where will the work force go? It is estimated that 60-70, 000 will simply drop out of the workforce because they don’t have to work as hard, as long as Uncle Sam is providing their bread and butter.
Not too long ago Haslam and his band of loyal lap dogs fought to not have federalized Obamacare expansion in our state sayin no way, not in our state. This was a great stance that symbolized victory and solidarity against Obamacare.
Today, Haslam brokers a deal with Obama to do exactly what Obama intended. Haslam has become the messenger and deliverer of Obamacare to Tennesseans.
The Koch brothers and AFP, Americans For Progress are spending alot of money on radio ads to attack local legislators for trying to hide the fact that Insure Tn is just another Medicaid/Obamacare expansion. This was going virtually unnoticed till attention was drawn to the deception by our elected officials.
Incidentally, State Representative Kevin Brooks 24th District, has drawn the ire of the billionaire brothers and their political organization and they have him firmly in their sites.
Brooks, according to the ads has been parading around the state house drumming up support for Haslams Obamacare plan. An allegation Brooks has not owned stating he hasn’t even declared a position one way or another on the issue. But some argue that his action is his statement. He will be voting soon and we will be watching.
Recently Brooks and a host of others stood against Obamacare making the constituency proud. But those in the know knew something was brewing. Often, politicians will allow the Trojan horse to slip through the gate, appear conservative then when they think no one is looking baaaam they try to slip Obamacare or a leftist issue through the gate and fool the peasants. Not this time it appears. The People have their eyes wide open.
One thing for sure is the Koch Brothers and AFP saw the soldiers dismounting from the trojan horse and spoiled their plan calling them out in radio ads all over the state, especially in Bradley County Tn. Like them or not they are spot on with this issue.
With Haslam dressing Obamacare up like a Thanksgiving turkey it will be interesting to see how those healthcare fighting marauders will vote in the near future.
Will they do the flip flop or appear hypocritical just to appease King Haslam.
Will Insure Tn, ie, Obamacaid be the Achilles heel that divides the men from the liberals?
Regardless of the outcome it will send a strong message to voters and will separate the true conservatives from the RINO.
Do we vote the way King Haslam wants us too or do we vote against Obamacare?
Rest assured if they vote to expand Obamacare in TN, conservative types all across TN will be lined up down the street ready to vote them out of office.
Its Haslam, Obama or the people?
The line in the sand is drawn.
February 3rd, 2014 we will see where they stand.
Sources of info:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/23/anti-medicaid-expansion-lawmaker-criticizes-radio-/
http://www.politico.com/playbook/0114/playbook12615.html
Insure Tn costs
http://www.tennessean.com/story/insession/2015/01/28/5-takeaways-insure-tennessee-presentation/22478059/
2016 Tn Care budget
Bradley County News Network 