Gov. Christie's proposed income limits would cut Medicaid for working poor
It would appear that Governor Flintstone has a brilliant new plan to deal with the financial problems bedeviling New Jersey right now - Kill The Poor!
Adults in a family of three that makes as little as $103 a week would earn too much to qualify for health care provided by Medicaid under a sharply curtailed program Gov. Chris Christie wants the federal government to approve this year, according to state officials and advocates briefed on the proposal.
If approved by the Obama administration, the change would affect only new applicants and virtually everyone in the program now would continue to receive health benefits, officials said. Children would continue to be accepted.
I guess the big question here is will the Obama administration let him do it after he blew $400M for Race To The Top, cancelled a major transportation project, is trying to renege on returning unused federal funds to the government, and he just gave $200M to a developer to revitialize a failed shopping mall project in Bergen County. Like we need another mall.
This potential move hurts those who can least afford to be hurt.
The state estimates that about 23,000 people in the coming fiscal year would be prevented from enrolling in Medicaid and New Jersey FamilyCare, a spinoff program for working poor who make slightly more than the Medicaid limits.
The Christie administration is expected to propose cutting the maximum income level of Medicaid from $24,645 to $5,317 a year for a family of three, said Ray Castro, senior analyst for New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning think tank, who was briefed by administration officials. State officials confirmed the figure.
"That is about a third of the poverty level," Castro said. "That means that an uninsured parent working full time at a minimum-wage job wouldn’t be eligible. … A parent who works half-time for minimum wage wouldn’t even qualify.
After reading the article and some of the comments, this song popped into my head. Very appropriate, I would think, even if it is a little abrasive for a Thursday morning.
Dead Kennedys - Kill The Poor
Lyrics:
Efficiency and progress is ours once more
Now that we have the Neutron bomb
It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done
Away with excess enemy
But no less value to property
No sense in war but perfect sense at home:
The sun beams down on a brand new day
No more welfare tax to pay
Unsightly slums gone up in flashing light
Jobless millions whisked away
At last we have more room to play
All systems go to kill the poor tonight
Gonna
Kill kill kill kill Kill the poor:Tonight
Behold the sparkle of champagne
The crime rate's gone
Feel free again
O' life's a dream with you, Miss Lily White
Jane Fonda on the screen today
Convinced the liberals it's okay
So let's get dressed and dance away the night
While they:
Kill kill kill kill Kill the poor:Tonight