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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    Survey Says!


    By JGillman, Section News
    Posted on Wed Apr 17, 2013 at 02:34:02 PM EST
    Tags: Michigan, Medicaid Expansion, Stealing Liberty, Snyder, Obama, Cahoots, Survey, Not Top Priority (all tags)

    We don't want an expansion of Medicare.

    Some 65 percent of active Michigan voters believe Michigan should not expand Medicaid under Obamacare because taxpayers cannot rely on the federal government to pay its share of the increased costs that would come with adding new recipients, according to a survey conducted by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Liberty Foundation of America.

    Several legislators and the White House are pushing to expand Medicaid in Michigan with the promise that the federal government will pay 100 percent of the additional cost for new enrollees for three years, then decrease that through 2020 until the state budget becomes responsible for paying 10 percent of the cost.

    And I have a bridge to sell you.  .. Or maybe our governor does?

    Another 61 percent of respondents said it was a "convincing argument" not to expand Medicaid because it would "allow too many able-bodied young people to get insurance, even if they just chose not to work to provide for their own health care needs."

    "Hardly a week goes by without new reports from Washington of Obamacare implementation glitches, delays and unanswered questions, indicating the law is still highly vulnerable," Senior Legislative Analyst Jack McHugh told Michigan Capitol Confidential. "In addition, there's abundant evidence that optional Medicaid expansion will impose much higher future costs on Michigan taxpayers than proponents acknowledge."

    McHugh has written about this issue extensively, pointing out the budget trap that could befall Michigan taxpayers and the problems the state could face if it makes the wrong decision.

    "The public senses these things and has logically concluded that the expansion simply doesn't make sense for Michigan at this time," McHugh added.

    Continued below ~

    Some 77 percent of respondents to the survey agreed that the state should not rush into the Medicaid expansion because there are too many unknown variables at this point. Almost 80 percent said they would enroll in Medicaid if they were "uninsured, needed health care and were qualified" to participate. But only 3 percent think Michigan's Medicaid program is "honest;" 17 percent said it was "competent" and just 10 percent said it was "efficient."

    And that's why so many want to jump on board in times of need.

    Only half of the respondents favor expanding Medicaid "to all uninsured state residents with household income levels up to 138 percent of the poverty level." Gov. Snyder's plan would expand Medicaid for those up to 133 percent of the poverty level. When told of the potential impact the expansion could have, support drops to 47 percent.

    "When you ask people if the federal government should cut spending, people say yes, but when you start selecting programs to cut they say no," Matt Mayer of the Liberty Foundation told Capital Confidential. "It's the same here. In the abstract, sure they want to expand Medicaid. But when people learn about the potential effects, their opinions change."

    Sigh..

    One-third of the respondents identified themselves as Democrats, while 29 percent identified themselves as independents and 24 percent said they were Republicans. Only 10 percent of those surveyed said they see health care as a top priority in Michigan.

    10 Percent are concerned.

    As an FYI, the Mackinac Center is hosting Avik Roy, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute and national expert on health care policy analysis, for an Issues & Ideas Forum on Medicaid expansion at noon on Thursday at the Michigan Restaurant Association in Lansing.

    < Did You? | Planning For The Long Haul (or, Taking Over The Party Isn't The Real Objective) >


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    Getting other people to pay your freight. (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by KG One on Wed Apr 17, 2013 at 09:30:01 PM EST
    Someone shot me an e-mail earlier today regarding something said by their local city manager at a budget presentation yesterday about the Un-Afforadable Care Act (apparently, Obamacare is a term they do not like to use or hear in this end of the country).

    The city manager mentioned that there are significant costs associated with maintaining compliance the requirements of the act and that was having a negative effect on their overall budget.

    They asked if I could confirm the accuracy of his claim, to which I only sent back a short "I told you so".

    If local cities have realized that this is literally a ticking time bomb waiting to go off in their faces, why is their such a disconnect on the state level?

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