Feds Approve Corbett's Medicaid Plan

     Yeah But...

According to the 'Pittsburgh Post-Gazette', "The agreement allows Pennsylvania to impose the highest Medicaid premiums of any state in the country beginning in 2016."

It was previously reported by 'The Philadelphia Inquirer' in May "Pennsylvania's expansion of Medicaid to require 723 new workers". "Far higher than most states have needed... Those new hires typically are in the dozens. New Jersey, for example, said the contractor that coordinates its health benefits hired 38 permanent employees and 62 temps... "The enrollment system is heavily automated for Medicaid," said Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University."


CommentaryBasically Governor Corbett is following what Republicans always seem to do when it comes to the Affordable Care Act. (1) Make the government sponsored ACA more expensive then it has to be.

(2) Privatize healthcare by all means possible. Even if it takes 100's of new state workers and lines the pockets of for-profit health insurance carriers to do it.

(3) Make the ACA less palatable to the American public by these means. Thereby accomplishing the Republican's main goal, the weakening of public support for ACA.

If Tom Wolf wins the position as governor here in Pennsylvania he may undo this.

'The Pocono Record'-- "It would be very doable for another governor to come in and do something different".. said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families...

Tom Wolf would move forward with traditional Medicaid expansion," spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan said. "Governor Corbett's plan creates unnecessary bureaucracy and threatens higher premiums for certain recipients and future benefit cuts."