State Should Expand Medicaid
Dear Editor,
How should your tax dollars should be spent?
Surely this is a question every North Carolinian ought to be able to answer. Right now, while Gov. Cooper and the NC General Assembly are negotiating our state budget, there are $7.2 billion in state coffers.
So far, draft budgets have not included Medicaid expansion. NC is one of only 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid. Federal incentives would allow us to expand our state health safety net with no additional expenditures this year. After that, the federal government will cover 90 percent of our state’s Medicaid expansion costs in perpetuity.
Who would gain coverage? The people who make too much for current Medicaid coverage (42 percent of poverty level) but not enough to be able to obtain ACA coverage with subsidies (138 percent of poverty rate).
Some Triad legislators oppose Medicaid expansion. Sen. Joyce Krawiec warns against creating a “new entitlement” that will bankrupt the state in the unlikely event that the federal government goes back on its commitments. Rep. Lambeth will only consider expansion that includes a work requirement, which the Supreme Court has disallowed, and for good reasons. (As it happens, most people who would be covered by expansion are in fact working.)
Now the federal government is offering incentives that would allow NC to expand Medicaid without spending any state dollars for now, and only 10 percent of cost in the future. The numbers are clear. What’s keeping NC legislators from allocating our tax dollars responsibly?
EIleen McCully
Never trust the government
Right! Long ago and far away, many our citizens did. Now, anyone who has a clue as to what is going on, does not trust the govt, or business.
Rule #37B: If your car breaks down while out-of-town, you are screwed. The auto repair business if raft with predatory dealers & auto repair shops. Look hard for an honest auto shop you can depend on. As cars become more loaded with gizmos, chips, & batteries; no one but the dealership can work on them. Try a bicycle.
While in Boone, my car needed some work. Considering what the dealership wanted, I should have had the car towed to my mechanic here. So I just trashed the car, I had no other choice.
If there were a simple measure that would help every single North Carolinian, and would help lower income people particularly, without any new government program or bureaucracy, and which required no administration, would you be in favor of it?
If so, please ask your representative to finally and fully repeal the state’s Food Tax.
And replace the lost income with what? or cut what programs?
I am all for cutting taxes as long as it is fiscally responsible tax cuts that have offsets in spending or off sets with increased income from other programs. Unlike Trump who rain up the deficits with permanent tax cuts for the wealthy and only temporary tax cuts for us average folk. Heck, at least the Dems understand and are trying to find new tax income on the wealthy to pay for their spending packages. But I am sure the modern conservatives will make sure that doesn’t happen.
You’re just an effing moron who likes to contradict everything I say.
Grow up.
Get a life.
And get over me – loser boy – you sorry, sad little tosser.
PS Did you not notice that the state is absolutely rolling in money?
State currently has a pile of federal dollars with strings attached and would only offer a cover for a limited period of time. To fund this kind of move will require reoccurring dollars in terms of tax revenues.
Really? Gee it’s strange that 37 other states manage to get by without taxing groceries, isn’t it?
And even more strange is that Republican Glenn Youngkin just won the Virginia gubernatorial race while pledging to repeal their vestigial Food Tax. It was a vote winner, apparently.
And don’t worry about the finances of our state – NC coffers have rarely been so plentiful – while the Productive Private Sectors suffers.
The best approach is to cut spending . . . period. Politicians (both democrats and republicans) are there to “bring home the bacon” as they used to say, and none of them would cut any of their own favored programs. It’s the tail wagging the dog for both parties. It’s the old “I give you money for your campaign, you give me favors when in office.”
BTW, Trump increased the total non-taxed deductions threshold to 25%, which was a lot better than the old 7.5% rule where you had to pay taxes on anything over 7.5%. He also set the floor on the rich which limited them to $10,000 deduction on their fancy homes, etc., and the highest taxing states could not stop it.
Exactamondo! Cut taxes and spending.
Just make me King of NC. I’ll put a stop to all this crap. Freeloaders can work, or leave the State.
By the way, the victorious candidate in the Virginia gubernatorial race, Glenn Youngkin, made it part of his platform to repeal Virginia’s Food Tax, imposed on Virginians in the late 60’s. His pledge got a lot of air time, and undoubtedly helped him to victory.
Only 13 states tax groceries. When Virginia repeals its tax, it will be just 12. Our tax on groceries was imposed by “Food Tax Terry” sanford in 1961 – as a “temporary measure”. Sixty years is temporary enough.
NC leaders should follow Virginia’s lead and move forward on this issue. It’s a vote winner.
Medicaid expansion has created a mess in states like CA that have it. There are different Medicaid programs in every county with different requirements and insurers and coverage. If you move you must apply to the new program. Just because the state’s part is “only” 20%, the part covered by the federal government is still paid with your tax dollar, well the tax dollar of working people. Expanded Medicaid is not the answer, people working, and better jobs is.