Suicides in Alabama Linked to Obama Presidency
In an ironic twist, Obamacare is now responsible for millions of impoverished Americans going without healthcare.
That’s right – because of the way the Affordable Care Act is structured, many people who fall below the federal poverty line, but live in states that didn’t adopt expanded Medicaid coverage, no longer qualify for any federal healthcare subsidies at all.
You see, Obamacare’s federal subsidies apply only to those making between one and four times the federal poverty limit, or between roughly $12,000 and $47,000.
Meanwhile, most states that didn’t adopt the federal government’s expanded Medicaid provision have strict income ceilings for state-sponsored assistance. In Alabama, for example, the Medicaid ceiling is $2,832 for a family of two, after deductions. That creates a near- $9,000 gap in which people aren’t eligible for any government assistance, leaving them in extremely difficult circumstances. Perhaps it’s not so surprising that Alabama is dealing with an unfortunately high suicide rate.
In all, 24 states chose not to adopt Obamacare’s expanded Medicaid coverage, citing the prohibitive cost of such a move. Several governors also astutely noted that they didn’t think the cost of expanding coverage was sustainable. Even though Obama offered three years of coverage on the federal government’s dime, many states would be up a creek after that funding disappeared.
Consequently, Obamacare has left nearly five million of the country’s poorest people with no choice but to pay full cost if they want health insurance, even as higher-paid citizens of other states buy insurance with help from the federal government.
You Always Hurt the One You Love
It seems unconscionable that the Affordable Care Act – which was passed on the back of a number of false promises, but especially the promise that it would provide health insurance to everyone – has actually denied insurance to some of America’s most impoverished citizens.
And Obama’s solution – to expand Medicaid coverage to anyone making up to about $16,000, funded entirely by the federal government for the next three years – is a financial disaster waiting to happen. Entitlement benefit spending is already on an unsustainable fiscal path. Adding 24 more states to the federal Medicaid supplement would be an enormous burden on the government’s funds.
Meanwhile, the few governors who are actually astute enough to recognize that the government needs to rein in its spending spree are now “responsible” for millions of Americans who are unable to afford healthcare.
Seems pretty twisted, doesn’t it? These responsible leaders are fighting against a current of irresponsible spending, only to be burdened with a predicament that they didn’t create.
On top of that, the hospitals that were expecting an influx of insured patients have continued treating patients for free. And the payments they once received as reimbursement for this work? They’re no longer available in the states that rejected the president’s outlandish Medicaid expansion. I guess it’s up to the hospitals to figure out how to finance this “affordable” healthcare reform.
If you ask me, it’s obvious that the Obamacare experiment is an unmitigated disaster. Out-of-control spending, a parade of lies, a disastrous website, critical security concerns… there’s almost no end to the carnival of misery.
In Pursuit of the Truth,
Christopher Eutaw
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