Obamacare

AHCCCS Community Forum in Tucson re: Governor Ducey’s Medicaid ‘reform’ plan (AHCCCS Care) on Wednesday

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Tucson is scheduled to hold the last Community Forum by AHCCCS for Governor Ducey’s so-called Medicaid (AHCCCS) reform proposal to stigmatize the working poor who are on AHCCCS medical care.

WHEN: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Casino Del Sol, Ballroom B, 5655 W. Valencia Road, Tucson, AZ.

WHAT: On August 3, 2015, Governor Ducey announced his plan to modernize Arizona’s Medicaid program, i.e., AHCCCS CARE.

Arizona’s DRAFT Section 1115 Demonstration request with more detailed information on the proposal can be found on the link below:

AZ DRAFT Section 1115 Demonstration Program Template (8/17/2015) [PDF]

AZ DRAFT Section 1115 Demonstration Program Narrative (8/18/2015) [PDF]

Community Forum Presentation [PowerPoint]

Comments and questions will be taken at the meeting but can also be submitted:

By Email: PublicInput@azahcccs.gov

By Mail: AHCCCS, Office of Intergovernmental Relations, 801 E. Jefferson Street, Mail Drop 4200, Phoenix, AZ 85034

Let’s just say that the governor’s proposal has not been well received by the public and medical providers at the public forums held to date, nor should it. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, 1st public hearings on Medicaid changes find wide opposition:

We-Love-ObamacareArizona Gov. Doug Ducey wants able-bodied Arizonans on the state’s Medicaid program for the poor to pay into health savings accounts  and be charged co-pays for some services, but those proposals and others he’s touting got a tough reception at the first meeting where the public was allowed to weigh in.

Health care providers and patients said the governor’s proposals would likely end up costing the state more money by discouraging people from getting treatment until they are far sicker. And their blunt assessment will be passed on to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which must approve a waiver to allow them to go into force.

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Oh brother

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

scotuscare

A little while back Rachel Maddow did a wonderful segment that had me nodding my head in furious agreement and applauding (I seriously clapped my hands at the TV, you guys). She expressed her bewilderment at certain political concepts that aren’t really meaningful when closely examined or helpful when put into practice, but are wildly popular with some segments of the public. Things like term limits (which regular people looooove but aren’t really conducive to effective governance), or nepotism (thinking someone is qualified to hold office simply because his or her relative did). It culminated in her main thesis about Donald Trump (to quote John Oliver, why is he still a thing?) but I’m going to draw from her build-up to laugh at the latest stunt by the GOP majority in the House to get back at the Supreme Court for upholding the ACA subsidies in their decision announced Thursday.

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Big win today for ‘ObamaCare’ at SCOTUS, evil GOP bastards’ plans to destroy ‘ObamaCare’ thwarted again

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ACAThe big decision from the U.S. Supreme Court today is a 6-3 ruling by Chief Justice John Roberts in King v. Burwell, rejecting the fraud perpetrated upon the Court by the Libertarian lawyers who brought this meritless case (more on this point later), and upholding the Affordable Care Act subsidies for those who are participating in the ACA through the federal run exchanges. Here is the opinion in King v. Burwell (.pdf).

Millions of words have been published over the past year in speculation about what the evil GOP bastards in Congress would do in response to a Supreme Court decision in favor of the plaintiffs gutting the ACA subsidies in the the federal run exchanges. All of their evil plans to destroy “ObamaCare” after a favorable court decision now lie in ruins. The GOP’s hostage taking strategy just evaporated into the ether.

Today’s decision is a complete victory for the Obama administration — and for American consumers of health care insurance. See the New York Times today, Measuring Health Insurance Subsidies’ Success (h/t NY Times photo above).

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I’m taking this one personally, Governor Ducey

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im-watching-you

Per AZ Capitol Times (yes, behind a paywall but I pay for my subscription so I get to talk about it):

Gov. Doug Ducey may have just cost more than 200,000 Arizonans a shot at keeping the health insurance they received through the Affordable Care Act, though they won’t know for sure until the U.S. Supreme Court rules this summer.
Ducey has signed HB2643, which prohibits Arizona or any of its political subdivisions from using taxpayer dollars or personnel to establish a state-run health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act. Arizona is one of 34 states using a federally run exchange after declining to set up a state-run exchange of its own.

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Top 20 Reasons Why Republicans Want to Repeal Obamacare (video)

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elysium-NLIn Elysium, Matt Damon’s 2013 post-apocalyptic drama, the 1% are safely ensconced on a idyllic floating space station (Elysium). In contrast, the 99% toil in poverty and grime and suffer from police oppression on Earth, which has been destroyed by pollution and over-crowding.

Early on in Elysium, Damon, a former thug who works in a giant factory with no safety equipment, workplace regulations, or human resources protections, has an industrial accident and is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. Fellow workers hear his screams from the radiation chamber and try valiantly to get him out, but the supervisor tells them to leave him in there and go back to work “because he’s already dead”. After the exposure, they drag Damon out (literally) and take him to the factory clinic. When the CEO sees him, he tells the supervisor to send Damon home before he soils the sheets. At several junctures in the movie, the dire, dirty conditions on Earth are juxtaposed with the gleaming perfection of Elysium, but the contrast in healthcare is the most stark. On Elysium, people have high-tech, full-body scanners that can cure all diseases. On Earth, people are left to die.

At one point, the CEO says to a worker whose daughter is dying, “This isn’t Elysium. We can’t just heal her.” This movie is the Koch Brothers’ wet dream and our nightmare. If the Republican Party could get away with it, this is where we will be by 2154 (the date of the movie) or sooner. Getting rid of the Affordable Care Act and social safety net programs are the first steps.

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