Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, the RepubliCare Death Angel, has found a way to cover, she says, the 94 people needing transplants she defunded, killing two to date. She is including them in an $151 million “uncompensated care pool”. To pay for it, she wants to kick 280,000 people off Medicaid and kill the Medicaid funding for 5,200 seriously mentally ill adults. All of these go into the same pool. How such a pool works is that doctors who wish to participate treat people covered by the pool, they do so and apply for payment. If there is money available, they get paid. If not, they don’t. With too many people competing for too little funding, doctors will only be reimbursed a small part of the cost of their services, so few will participate. Those needing organ transplants will not get them and die. Some of the 280,000 she wants to kick off Medicaid will die from lack of care. This is RepubliCare in action.
Last year, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and the state legislature decided to save a relatively paltry sum of public money by refusing to pay for life-saving transplants for 98 patients (two of whom have died in the interim). After months of unrelenting bad publicity, Brewer has relented.
In the executive summary of her budget proposal for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, Brewer has proposed setting up a $151 million “uncompensated-care pool to pay health-care providers for ‘life-saving’ procedures” like the transplants.
That’s the good news, though the fund has not yet been created and there are still nearly 100 people on the transplant list and it very well could be too small to cover the need. What’s more, the new uncompensated-care pool doesn’t come without strings.
The governor’s plan calls for removing 280,000 mostly childless adults from Medicaid. That would slash $541.5 million in general-fund spending next year, according to the summary.
Cutting 5,200 “seriously mentally ill individuals” from Medicaid would lower spending by $79.8 million. The governor proposed $10.3 million in prescription-drug funding to offset the eliminated coverage….
The pool won’t be big enough to guarantee transplants because taking people out of Medicaid will create a surge in hospital patients who can’t afford to pay, according to Sarah Muench, a spokeswoman for Representative Anna Tovar. The Democrat from Tolleson opposed the transplant cuts.
“All of those people will be making use of that fund,” Muench said in a telephone interview. “The likelihood of receiving transplants is very low.”
Only Jan Brewer would come up with the idea of cutting 5,200 seriously mentally ill patients off of care within two weeks of a madman’s bloody rampage in her own state… [emphasis original]
Inserted from <Daily Kos>
Keith Obbermann covered this quite well with Arizona State Senator David Schapira (D).
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This is such an obvious scam that, if the Obama administration authorized the change in Medicaid eligibility, I shall be quite surprised. If they refuse, Republicans will blame Obama for the murder of their own transplant refusal victims.
21 Responses to “Death Angel Brewer’s Solution? More Death!”
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Republicans care about money. They don’t care about people. They take care of their money. They don’t take care of their people.
Bingo!
I remember– Germany did not start with Jews– The slaughter started with the mentally ill–
Welcome Phyllis! 😀
I don’t think this policy will be any worse for the mentally ill patients than for the other 280,000. However are less equipped to fend of Republican lies that Democrats are at fault, and there may be another potential shooter among them.
This is so sick! I refuse to believe there are people that do not see through the Bachmann’s and Brewer’s. They are such fuckwads!
Americans are stupid! I hate when I am at work and I hear people say stuff like “Obama raised my taxes” or any of the other right-wing lies spread on “news” channels like Fox.
This is appalling and these pools are real “death panels.” If a Democrat came up with this proposal, the GOP would be right out there calling them “death pools” and do everything in their power to kill the proposal (in a way that benefits their corporate interests), killing those who truly need care in the process…
Kevin, I fully agree.
Jim, there are people who never hear the truth, They watch Fox,
Death to the poor and infirm. Wasn’t it Josef Mengele who separated Jews into groups of who lived and who died? I don’t see much difference here.
Good point!
Thanks Charles.
It is disgusting and sickening how these budget-balancing-happy Republicans always want to balance the budget on the backs of those who can least afford it. It would be a LOT more equitable, and yield a much higher share of revenue, if instead they would simply tax the rich at 1980 levels. But no, they’re never happy until they’ve kicked the poor while they’re down. I WILL NEVER BE A REPUBLICAN!!!
Jack, I think their goal is to eliminate the middle class. Then there is nobody left to challenge one-party rule.
Send in the National Guard to take this woman out of power; she clearly has no idea wtf she’s doing. Bitch. 😡 😡 😡
What happened to the 26 ideas that the Rep from IL came up with? I bet they went right into the circular file. I really hate that ugly bitch.
Lisa, I think a recall petition would be better. I could not countenance removing any leader by force. Neither could you.
She discarded the 26 Republican ideas in favor of using her victims needing transplants as an excuse to gut Medicaid.
I am a staunch liberal. I read this blog almost daily. I am; however, troubled by the title of this post: “Death Angel Brewer’s Solution? More Death!” I am having a hard time trying to see how this is any different than when Sarah Palin said president Obama’s Health Care Reform would have ‘Death Panels’. This is hyperbole gone mad! Jan Brewer does not wish to kill people. I have strong opinions about Arizona and their politics, having lived there for the past 5 years (I recently moved back to California) but did we not just see what vitriol can do?
Welcome Xavier. 🙂
I’m sorry my rhetoric displeases you, but their is one difference between what I say and what Palin said and says. It is a huge difference. What Palin said about dealt panels are lies. What I said about Brewer’s policies killing her own citizens is true. Therefore my anger is informative. Palin’s is deceptive.
I also have a superb record of opposing violence and violent rhetoric, no matter who it comes from. I have never targeted Republicans with bullseyes, said “don’t retreat, reload” or called for second amendment solutions. That is another difference.
Good point Tom, Jan Brewer’s decision to not fund the transplant program has cost lives; however, we should consider changing the tone of our collective dialogue to a more civil tone, wouldn’t you agree?
Having said that, I am on your side on most issues and I appreciate bloggers like you that are promoting progressive ideals. Kudos on the blog!
Xavier, this is one of the few left wing sites where conservatives may argue their views and be treated civilly, as long as they obey the rules listed on the rules page. There are lefty bloggers who refuse to visit PP, because I deleted their personal insults to Republicans that posted views here. But I don’t extend that civility to public figures who pursue uncivilized policies.
Mengele’s got nothing on her!
Perhaps Mengele was a bit more honest than Brewer.