Missouri to pay price for voting red
My home state has had the grave misfortune to fall under the influence of the Blunt family. Daddy Blunt, Roy, is a long-time recipient of big tobacco money, and showed his fealty by divorcing his wife to marry a tobacco lobbyist. Baby Blunt, Matt (I was in his cub scout troop--seriously), has become governor in spite of an utter lack of experience thanks to Daddy's name-- sound familiar? It's the GOP way!
Roy Blunt, in addition to being House majority whip, is also one of the only politicos still foolhardy enough to voice public support for DeLay.
Matt Blunt is eager to go fascistic, too, and I'm sure the party is very proud of him for throwing Missouri's underprivileged to the wolves.
From the LA Times:
Here in impoverished southeast Missouri, nurses at a family health clinic stash drug samples for patients they know won't be able to afford their prescriptions after their coverage is eliminated this summer. Doctors try to comfort waitresses, sales clerks and others who will soon lose coverage for medical, dental and mental healthcare.
"I don't know what cure to offer them," Dr. Hameed Khaja said.
Lawmakers say they feel for those who will lose coverage. But they say also that they have no alternative. . . .
In Missouri, where nearly one in five residents is enrolled in Medicaid, Gov. Matt Blunt is poised to sign the most drastic overhaul of all: a bill that would eliminate the program entirely in three years.
Blunt expects that by then, the state will have established an alternative mechanism for helping the poorest of the poor. But the legislation on his desk does not insist on it. It only states that Missouri Medicaid will cease on June 30, 2008.
In the meantime, the bill severely cuts the existing program, ending coverage for an estimated 65,000 to 100,000 people.
Legislators are still working out eligibility details. But under one leading proposal a single mother of two who earns $3,800 a year would be considered too wealthy to qualify for Missouri Medicaid. The woman's children would still be eligible for free healthcare. But if she gets a better job and starts earning $23,000 a year, they, too, would be bumped off Medicaid — unless she's willing to pay as much as 5% of her income in monthly premiums. The state expects many parents at that income level would be unable or unwilling to pay the premiums, forcing about 24,000 children off the Medicaid rolls.
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They might hate evolution, but they can't get enough of Social Darwinism. The Blunts are opportunistic bastards, and that's that.
Roy Blunt, in addition to being House majority whip, is also one of the only politicos still foolhardy enough to voice public support for DeLay.
Matt Blunt is eager to go fascistic, too, and I'm sure the party is very proud of him for throwing Missouri's underprivileged to the wolves.
From the LA Times:
Here in impoverished southeast Missouri, nurses at a family health clinic stash drug samples for patients they know won't be able to afford their prescriptions after their coverage is eliminated this summer. Doctors try to comfort waitresses, sales clerks and others who will soon lose coverage for medical, dental and mental healthcare.
"I don't know what cure to offer them," Dr. Hameed Khaja said.
Lawmakers say they feel for those who will lose coverage. But they say also that they have no alternative. . . .
In Missouri, where nearly one in five residents is enrolled in Medicaid, Gov. Matt Blunt is poised to sign the most drastic overhaul of all: a bill that would eliminate the program entirely in three years.
Blunt expects that by then, the state will have established an alternative mechanism for helping the poorest of the poor. But the legislation on his desk does not insist on it. It only states that Missouri Medicaid will cease on June 30, 2008.
In the meantime, the bill severely cuts the existing program, ending coverage for an estimated 65,000 to 100,000 people.
Legislators are still working out eligibility details. But under one leading proposal a single mother of two who earns $3,800 a year would be considered too wealthy to qualify for Missouri Medicaid. The woman's children would still be eligible for free healthcare. But if she gets a better job and starts earning $23,000 a year, they, too, would be bumped off Medicaid — unless she's willing to pay as much as 5% of her income in monthly premiums. The state expects many parents at that income level would be unable or unwilling to pay the premiums, forcing about 24,000 children off the Medicaid rolls.
___________________________________________________
They might hate evolution, but they can't get enough of Social Darwinism. The Blunts are opportunistic bastards, and that's that.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 10:00 AM
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