Justice, Politics, Society

The Height of Hypocrisy: Paralyzed Arkansas Legislator Sponsored Self-Serving Changes to Medicaid Law in His State While Voting Against Medicaid Expansion for the Needy

JoshMillerArkansasSubmitted 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)

179 thoughts on “The Height of Hypocrisy: Paralyzed Arkansas Legislator Sponsored Self-Serving Changes to Medicaid Law in His State While Voting Against Medicaid Expansion for the Needy”

  1. Wayne: You’re correct. Obama has kept us out of war. We can fight the enemy today over there, or we can fight the enemy tomorrow over here. We are dealing with an unconventional enemy who has a history. They think, not in terms of weeks, months or years. The think in terms of decades and centuries. You kill one and five more will attack us. Don’t wait until they are on your doorsteps.

  2. I just watched the video: Rudy Giuliani is spot on about Vladimir Putin. As far as knowing about leadership, I think Rudy Giuliani know something about leadership. Isn’t he the guy who led the country after 9/11? If you happen to be on the Russian side, yes, they see him as a leader. In my opinion, Vladimir Putin knows exactly what he is doing. He has a carefully laid plan and he waited until after the Olympics to execute it. Your hatred for Republicans/Conservatives is blinding you to what is being said.

    1. Ok…let me get this straight. You think Rudy Giuliani led our Nation after 9/11? Are you serious or is this suppose to be a joke? And you think I’m blinded?

      Wow….Rudy led our country after 9/11 ?? And what did George Bush do at this time? Never mind that was a rhetorical question as we all know what Bush did—which may explain some of the anger directed at the GOP.

  3. “People look at Putin as one who wrestles bears and drills for oil. They look at our president as one who wears mom jeans.”

    Sarah Palin

  4. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/rudy-giuliani-putin-leadership-030414

    “Rudy Giuliani remains impatient with democracy, possibly because he is so demonstrably bad at it. So he has spent the time since becoming the Terry Sanford of Republican electoral politics bemoaning the fact that actual elected presidents can’t snap their fingers and make the world jump through a hoop. 

    GIULIANI: Putin decides what he wants to do and he does it in half a day, right? He decided he had to go to their parliament. He went to their parliament. He got permission in 15 minutes. 
    CAVUTO: Well, that was kind of like perfunctory. 

    GIULIANI: But he makes a decision and he executes it, quickly. Then everybody reacts. That’s what you call a leader. President Obama, he’s got to think about it. He’s got to go over it again. He’s got to talk to more people about it.  

    Sooner or later, Republicans are going to have to make up their minds whether Vladimir Putin is the new Stalin, or whether he’s just the guy they all hope asks them to prom.”

  5. “Jon Stewart took Republicans and Conservatives to school by highlighting their apparent crush on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.” Since this crisis has started, I’ve been watching Fox News and CNN simultaneously and did not see or hear any Republicans express an apparent crush for Vladimir Putin. Just another example of hatred toward the Republicans/Conservatives.

  6. Elaine M.: the perceived hatred is quoted within my post. It’s not a matter of whether or not I applaud what was done. Please don’t try to change the subject.

  7. Elaine, it seems as if conservatives prefer his shirtless strength, despite his totalitarian regime. Perhaps in their heart of hearts, this is what they really want for our country? Afterall he enacted anti gay laws, that must make him appear heroic in some eyes.

    1. Yes, and all 5′ 5″ of Putin also hates blacks equally as much as gays. No wonder the GOP has fallen for their shirtless dictatorial hero.

      President Obama has so far kept us out of possible wars with Syria, Iran, Egypt and ordered Bin Laden killed….and yet the GOP considers him weak and praises Putin. Well, the GOP considers Obama weak unless it is time for them to bring out another talking point by calling him an abusive dictatorial President who violates the Constitution.

      It’s no wonder the GOP wins most of their elections by gerrymandering and voter suppression. What patriots.

  8. Wayne,

    Speaking of some Republicans’ new-found love of Vladimir Putin:

    Jon Stewart Nails Conservatives On Their Love Affair With Vladimir Putin
    By: Justin Baragona more from Justin Baragona
    Friday, March, 7th, 2014
    http://www.politicususa.com/2014/03/07/jon-stewart-nails-conservatives-love-affair-vladimir-putin.html

    Excerpt;
    During the first segment of The Daily Show on Thursday night, Jon Stewart took Republicans and conservatives to school by highlighting their apparent crush on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. In typical Stewart fashion, he used their own words against them to point out how they are showing cognitive dissonance by praising Putin for basically being a dictator and doing whatever he wants on the international stage, even though they’ve spent years complaining about how President Obama is acting like a dictator king and is using authoritarian rule in America.

    After beginning the show by giving a nice little breakdown of the current events in Ukraine and how Putin has been dishonest about what Russia has done so far, Stewart moved onto how conservatives in the American media have swallowed Putin’s propaganda and fallen head over heels for him. He contrasted Germany’s Angela Merkel stating that Putin is delusional and living in his own reality with Republican figures like Ralph Peters and Rudy Giuliani stating that Putin is a real leader and is far more effective than Obama.

  9. It’s perfectly natural to dislike people such as Josh Miller. It’s not as if most people don’t have good reason for their bad opinion of him.

  13. Yes, Elaine, it was easy to deduce that this joker was a member of the GOP. I think his campaign slogan is ‘Feed the rich, starve the poor and give me more’…..

  14. I’m not a Democrat. I’m not a Republican. I come at this from the perspective as an American ONLY. But it seems to me that there is an awful lot of hatred directed at Republicans, quote: “I guess even if I hadn’t noted his party affiliation, some people would have deduced it” Methinks the Democrats deserve equal time and you can start with Harry Reid.

    1. The hatred toward the GOP you mentioned is not hatred but anger. And it is anger well placed and well deserved against a political party with nothing to offer other than destructive criticism. Their new hero seems to be Vladimir Putin based upon the praise he has received from such stalwart Americans like Sarah Palin and Rush what’s his name.

      Maybe if the GOP had a plan to attack poverty instead of attacking the poor some of the anger directed at them might dissipate. Maybe if they wouldn’t openly ridicule our President during an international crisis some of the ‘hate’ would simmer down. Maybe.

  15. This legislator is one of the most disgusting humans
    in the country. Calling him a hypocrite is being way too
    nice.

  16. wordpress is cranky, I’m doing maneuvers to get around it because I have not had a comment retrieved since January.

  19. Wayne,

    I wrote that he was a Republican in the first sentence. I guess even if I hadn’t noted his party affiliation, some people would have deduced it.

    1. My fault, I tend to read too fast and miss important details. Thanks for letting me know.

  20. The article doesn’t specifically indicate if Josh Miller is a Republican or Democrat. But let me make a SWAG and bet he is an empathetic member of the GOP.

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