Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Weekend Contributor
Last week, I wrote a post about Josh Miller (Not All Needy People Are As Deserving As Others), a young Republican state legislator from Heber Springs, Arkansas. Miller, who was paralyzed more than a decade ago in a catastrophic car accident, has been able to live a productive life due to the medical benefits he has received from both Medicare and Medicaid. Yet, this young state senator has spoken out against Medicaid expansion in Arkansas. Some of us find his stance on this issue to be hypocritical.
This past Tuesday, lawmakers in Arkansas voted to continue allowing the state “to use Medicaid dollars to buy private health-care insurance for poorer residents, overcoming resistance from some Republicans who said the program amounted to an endorsement of the Affordable Care Act.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Arkansas became the first state “to offer a ‘private option’ to extend coverage to lower-income residents…” Supporters of the program saw the private option “as a way to accept federal dollars and cut the number of uninsured residents without enlarging Medicaid.”
Matt Campbell of Blue Hog Report said that when he heard about the legislature’s vote to fund the private option for another fiscal year he “halfheartedly hoped that the extra ‘yes’ vote might have been Rep. Josh Miller.” Such was not the case however. What Campbell said he finds most hypocritical and troubling about Miller’s “no” vote on the private option is that the young lawmaker actually used his position as a legislator “to make blatantly self-serving changes to the Medicaid law” which would make it easier for him to get the same coverage that he “would deny to others.” Campbell says that Miller was a main sponsor in 2013 of Act 1048. That Act changes how Arkansas law defines a person’s eligibility for receiving Medicaid.
Eligibility prior to ACT 1048:
an individual who meets the disability assets and unearned income standards to receive supplemental security income, who would be considered to be receiving supplemental security income benefits but for his or her earned income, and whose net combined family income is less than two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty guideline. Miller’s bill eligibility change:
How Miller’s bill would change eligibility:
an individual who meets the disability assets and unearned income standards to receive supplemental security income, who would be considered to be receiving supplemental security income benefits but for his or her earned income, and whose net combined family income is less than two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty guideline.
Campbell claimed that “while lawmakers and policy wonks were arguing over the propriety of expanding Medicaid in general to include non-disabled adults making up to 138% of the federal poverty line, Rep. Miller was working to ensure that, no matter how much money he might make, he could never lose his sweet, sweet government-funded insurance.” Campbell said that Miller didn’t stop at that, though. He said that Act 1048 also changes “Arkansas Code Annotated 20-77-1204 regarding the administration of Medicaid for ‘Low-Income Disabled Working Persons.’” He said Miller’s bill also added 1204(c), which states:
A rule adopted under this section shall not include a test for income, assets, or resources.
Campbell added that while 1204(b)(2) “explicitly requires DHS to adopt rules that establish ‘premium and cost-sharing charges on a sliding scale based on income’… thanks to Rep. Miller, DHS cannot actually include any kind of means testing in those rules…”
It certainly does appear that Josh Miller thinks that not all needy people in Arkansas are as deserving of Medicaid benefits as is he. It appears that he truly is a hypocrite too.
~ Submitted by Elaine Magliaro
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
SOURCES
The Disgustingly Self-Serving Hypocrisy of Rep. Josh Miller (Blue Hog Report)
Arkansas Lawmakers Pass ‘Private Option’ Health-Care Law: Program Allows State to Use Medicaid Dollars to Buy Private Health-care Insurance for Some (Wall Street Journal)
Not All Needy People Are As Deserving As Others: Paralyzed Arkansas Lawmaker Who Receives Medicaid Benefits Opposes Medicaid Expansion in His State (Res Ipsa Loquitor)
Lot’s of trolls and guerilla warfare. Not very healthy and passive aggressive.
Bron
Elaine:
There are 310 million people in this country, Sean Hannity made it to the top or close to it in radio and TV. He has something going for him and he worked hard as does Miley Cyrus.
Hannitys ratings are better than Maddows. Kelly kills Maddow in the ratings.
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/03/12/cable-news-ratings-for-tuesday-march-11-2014/244014/
There are many books which suck that get published for political reasons. My son used to have to read them in high school.
*****
Bron,
I don’t judge people by the money they make or their notoriety. I judge them by the content of their character. I know some small businessmen who could have made much more money had they been greedy and less caring of other people. There are people who made millions working on Wall Street while they tanked the economy…and the pensions of hard-working people. Think of the rich crooks who worked for Enron. Those people didn’t give a damn about anybody but themselves.
BTW, what are the titles of the books your son was required to read that were published for political reasons?
nick spinelli, on 1, March 12, 2014 at 12:35 am
Justin, To understand how some old timers react to you, understanding the history here is key. My suggestion is that you read some of the archives in 2012/13. Find some very long threads[200 comments or more]. There you will see some REAL hate mongering, epithets, vile behavior. The cast of characters will become apparent.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The previous comment, above, brought the following comment (and the two that follow it) to mind:
http://jonathanturley.org/2013/12/29/hopes-for-the-new-year/#comment-735953
Lottakatz is missed. She was very good at seeing through all the BS and getting to the heart of the matter.
Nick:
I watch O’Rielly some but he is really full of himself. I have heard him called Ted Baxter and it seems to fit.
Bron, But Maddow kills almost everyone in the smug dept. I think her and O’Reilly are the most smug, followed by the girly, Lawrence O’Donnell.
Bron, Lol about your son having to read PC books in high school.
I think it is pretty stupid to expect much from Palin and Hannity in the book department, Rush too for that matter.
Elaine:
There are 310 million people in this country, Sean Hannity made it to the top or close to it in radio and TV. He has something going for him and he worked hard as does Miley Cyrus.
Hannitys ratings are better than Maddows. Kelly kills Maddow in the ratings.
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/03/12/cable-news-ratings-for-tuesday-march-11-2014/244014/
There are many books which suck that get published for political reasons. My son used to have to read them in high school.
I don’t understand this reverence people, most those on the right, have for those without college degrees. Walker and Hannity come to mind. My son in law has said he would not hire anyone without a degree, because getting the degree shows that the prospective employee has the perseverance to do the work and get the degree, if nothing else. Palin wrote a book for pity sake. I wonder why Walker hasn’t just bit the bulle and gotten the degree, his book is on par with Palin’s, which isn’t saying much.
Bron,
Lots of celebrities/well-known people write books. Lots of those people write crappy books. Some of those people may even have ghost writers.
I’ve read tons of children’s books written by celebrities. Most of them stink…big time!
If money is the way you judge people–I guess you’d consider celebrities like Miley Cyrus to be financial geniuses.
*****
Here’s How You Buy Your Way Onto The New York Times Bestsellers List
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/02/22/heres-how-you-buy-your-way-onto-the-new-york-times-bestsellers-list/
Bron, This administration has the highest % of academics and the lowest % of people from the business community. That says it all!