that is, the moral test posed by the late Hubert H. Humphrey, who said
It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.
It will fail this moral test on all three counts
for children — disabled children will lose the support Medicaid provides schools to serve them; many will be barred from receiving benefits because of pre-existing conditions, or yearly or life-time caps, or at best their families will be presented with deductibles and insurance rates that effectively make those children uninsurable.
for seniors — much of Medicaid goes to funding of the care of the elderly — those who are not necessarily disable in nursing homes; those who are disabled who need that assistance to stay in their homes.
for the needy and the handicapped — for the needy, we are transferring more than ¾ of a trillion dollars from the Medicaid that addresses their needs, so they can continue to live, and perhaps be productive (and thereby contribute to the economy as consumers and taxpayers) in order to give totally unnecessary tax cuts to those who most certainly do not need even more wealth transferred to them
Regardless of the supposed political or economic theories behind these proposals,what is clear is an intent to try to do away with what some smear as “entitlements” when what they are is the strands of a social safety net to help all Americans.
This is American “exceptionalism” at its worst — with this nation moving further away from what just about every democracy in the world — and many totalitarian government as well — recognize: that health care should be a basic human right, one not rationed by one’s economic circumstances.
It is immoral, and should be strongly opposed on those grounds.
It is also financially destructive in so many ways, undercutting the economy and ultimately costing this society so much more.