Expand Medicaid in NC?: NO: The feds help up front, but that won’t last

NC:  Senate Update

The North Carolina Senate fulfilled two of its most important promises to voters this week by passing two bills: one that stops the expansion of Obamacare, and another that better prepares students for the workforce. 

On Tuesday, the Senate passed legislation that rejects key provisions of Obamacare and saves taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade.

Senate Bill 4 exempts North Carolina from establishing a state-based health insurance exchange or a state-federal partnership exchange, directs the N.C. Department of Insurance to return unspent taxpayer money to the federal government, and prevents the dramatic expansion of North Carolina’s Medicaid program.

Senate Rules Chair Tom Apodaca published an *op-ed in the Charlotte Observer explaining the enormous costs of Obamacare for our citizens.

It’s bad for the state budget, and bad for our businesses. I hope you’ll join me in the fight to protect our state from this intrusive federal law.........

 Senator Phil Berger

 

*A broke guy walks into a car dealership and is immediately hounded by a salesman. “Can I put you in one of our nice used vehicles?” the salesman asks.

“No, I’m looking for something a little faster,” the man responds. “I’ve been down on my luck for a good while. I lost my job. I lost my house. I couldn’t keep my lights on. But I really think that something in the six-figure range will help me turn my life around.”

“How about a Ferrari?” the salesman asks. “We’re running a great program where you won’t have to put any money down or pay a single dime for the entire first month!”

“A whole month!” the man exclaims. “What a deal! Where do I sign?”

This has never, nor will it ever, happen. Why? Because no self-respecting private businessman would ever be so foolish to offer financing to a person who cannot pay his bills. And yet this is what the federal government is promising us in an expansion of Medicaid. Why? Because that’s how they do business in Washington. (Remember the housing crisis, anyone?)

Despite a just-released audit of our state’s Medicaid program that highlights its inability to control costs, adhere to a budget or even follow the law, the federal government is offering us a lot of taxpayer money to expand the program. Some say we would be crazy to pass up this opportunity for “free” cash. But I for one haven’t seen a tree that grows dollar bills. Even if I had, I’d need to see a lot of them to come close to covering the costs of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/03/3828038/expand-medicaid-in-nc-no-the-feds.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/03/3828038/expand-medicaid-in-nc-no-the-feds.html#storylink=cpy

  

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