This is a story that needs to be retold repeatedly. Carolina Journal had a story that demonstrates, after Medicaid expansion in the state of NC, the growth in Medicaid expenditures over four years has been 93%.
Remain mindful that the Raleigh Republicans had already implemented managed care for Medicaid. Apparently managed care was not enough to prevent this huge increase in costs.
But then the corrupt decision was made to expand the welfare state according to Obamacare’s formula. Throw a bunch of more people on Medicaid, many of whom previously had private insurance.
The Republicans did not eliminate optional services under the Medicaid program. They did not reduce eligibility for the most part.
But they recently introduced work requirements for some. This will result in some people falling off the program. How many? Hard to say.
This is the “fiscally conservative” party.
This is the party of the greedy medical-industrial-complex pimp, Donny Lambeth, supposedly representing Kernersville as a Republican.
That’s right, J. Sobran. Here is one interesting perspective. We did not have this amount of mess when the Democrats controlled the North Carolina General Assembly until 2010. Even though the Democrats were not paragons of limited government, the Raleigh Republicans grew massively this entire mess the Democrats had started.
“though the Democrats were not paragons of limited government”
Triad, the perspective you are expressing here is distorted by the “2-party” garbage you’ve heard all your life. The Dems were horrible before 2010 in taxing, spending, mandating renewables to make our electricity expensive (that legacy remains). Which is why they were beatable in spite of their gerrymandering. They would have expanded Obamacare Medicaid immediately had they been in power.
So voting the hypocrite Republicans out would probably make it worse. Republicans were much better initially. It’s just that “power corrupts” thing is an absolute truth. Our little bit of hope rest on the possibility of getting some Republican candidates who do believe strongly in limited government and individual freedom (like Garland Tucker, maybe John Blust) and trying to support them. Unlike on the federal level, there is still hope at the State level.
I agree, J. Sobran. I think, however, it is instructive to see that the Republicans’ position reflects much more Medicaid than the pre-2010 Democrats. Yes, the Democrats probably would have expanded it as quickly as they could. However, as you say, the uniparty phenomenon means the differences are not as great as they are represented to be.
Of course some of this is legitimate under the present rules but a great deal is fraud.
Yes, there is definitely fraud, no doubt, Fred. I wish we could see a renewed determination to scale back the welfare state. Too much.