"Death to America!"
Posted on 02/07/2015 5:30:58 AM PST by cotton1706
In Rebuke of Tennessee Governor, Koch Group Shows Its Power
"In December, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, got the deal he wanted from the Obama administration: Tennessee would accept more than $1 billion in federal funding to expand Medicaid, as allowed for in the Affordable Care Act, but Obama aides would allow Haslam to essentially write staunchly conservative ideas into the program's rules for the state. He dubbed the reformed Medicaid program "Insure Tennessee."
But the state's chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the national conservative group whose foundation is chaired by controversial billionaire David Koch, argued Haslam was just trying to trick conservatives into implementing Obamacare in their state by giving it a new name. AFP campaigned aggressively Haslam's plans for the next six weeks, even running radio ads blasting GOP state legislators who said they might vote for it.
On Wednesday, Haslam's bill died in a committee of the Tennessee state senate. The vote was one of the clearest illustrations of the increasing power of AFP and other conservative groups funded in part by the Koch brothers.
When the coalition of conservative groups allied with Charles and David Koch announced recently they would spend $889 million over the next two years, much of the discussion was about how that money could shape the upcoming presidential election. But AFP and other Koch-backed conservative organizations may be having their biggest impact on state politics, where targeted advertising and a strong organization can make a huge difference.
"We're the third-worst state in the country for accepting federal dollars," said Andrew Ogles, AFP's state director said in an interview here. "It's time for us to stop. Anytime we have a problem, instead of coming up with a Tennessee solution, we run to the federal government with our hands out. No more."
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
While the republican governor makes deals with the Obama administration on what they will be "allowed" to do, the legislature said "screw you! we will not allow any more federal clutches!"
"Death to America!"
“Free Money,” is how Big Government gets its hooks into everyone. The Libs love to give other peoples’ money away to buy themselves obedience. The big challenge for conservatives is to construct convincing arguments to overcome the bribery. It really is pathetic how libs repeatedly destroy the country by giving away the country’s reserves and conservative have to figure out how to restore those reserves. Then the cycle starts all over again. It never changes because greed is the corrupting force.
Thanks for posting....and interesting that the Jurassic media and the Democrats (I repeat myself) always obsess over the Koch Brothers. If normal average every day citizens of Tennessee didn’t agree with the Koch’s, then the money and the ads would be meaningless.
Yes, the Koch’s wield power - because they are willing to spend money they made in the private sector to roll back tyranny - but they can’t perform Jedi mind tricks. The people have spoken. The Koch’s merely helped inform them.
The one thing we have going for us in this fight, aside from the fact that ‘international liberals’ still haven’t fully grasped the central important of State politics(many if not most of them are putting everything on the Federal government to impose its will), is that in a handful of years, the massive price tag for this medicare expansion will be entirely upon our State Governments.
Keeping it small keeps it affordable, more sustainable, and encourages those yupies to go raid someone else’s wallet.
We should keep note, that if we are to amend the constitution, and not re-prohibit Washington from our Domestic affairs, we should demand that federal funds get distributed prepositionally to the States, and that non-defense related domestic program participation must be voluntary.
Prepositionally?
The one thing we have going for us in this fight, aside from the fact that ‘international liberals’ still haven’t fully grasped the central important of State politics(many if not most of them are putting everything on the Federal government to impose its will), is that in a handful of years, the massive price tag for this medicare expansion will be entirely upon our State Governments.
Keeping it small keeps it affordable, more sustainable, and encourages those yupies to go raid someone else’s wallet.
We should keep note, that if we are to amend the constitution, and not re-prohibit Washington from our Domestic affairs, we should demand that federal funds get distributed proportionally to the States, and that non-defense related domestic program participation must be voluntary.
Most don't understand that the free money already exists.
Poor people and those without insurance already receive some level of free health care. But there are limits on that free health care, and it is very low quality health care, and it is very expensive health care..
The taxpayers are paying for this free health care with local taxes, state taxes, and federal taxes, as well as by higher health care premiums.
Obamacare is merely a way to disburse the federal money in a different way that expands the amount of health care, improves the quality of the healthcare, and lowers the cost.
In the transition period between the two payment methods, the feds are paying both methods. And Obama said he would continue this for some unknown period, but eventually, the old method money would end.
When that happens, the "old free health care" will have to be paid for by only state and local taxes.
This is why the hospitals are pitching a fit and agitating for the state to expand medicaid. They know that this old federal funding is going to end and they can't absorb it, nor can they recoup it by charging the insurance companies higher prices.
As times go by, the state and local politicians also recognize and acknowledge that the day of reckoning is coming. If Obama is willing to compromise with them, they are willing to compromise with him.
So the states that compromised early on with Obama got the best deals, and those states that compromise later don't get as good of a deal, and those states that hold out to the end will go down in a big ball of flames
If you live in TN, your property taxes are going up, to pay for free health care.
If you live in one of the GOP states that won't expand Medicaid, Obama's gotcha by the ying yang and he will eventually start squeezing.
It wasn’t just the Koch money, Patriotic Tea Party members traveled on their own nickel to Nashville to whisper into the ears of Legislators THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE and not the Rino Governor! It was a game changer!
AMEN!
“...FREE MONEY...” What a novel concept...NOT!
“but Obama aides would allow Haslam to essentially write staunchly conservative ideas into the program’s rules for the state”
lol. That is one of the most hilarious lines ever written right there.
BTW- The libertarian-leaning, open borders Koch Brothers are about #50 on the list of big spenders in politics.
How about that states be funded by state taxes, and the federal government be funded by federal taxes and no mixing of the 2 at all.
“How about that states be funded by state taxes, and the federal government be funded by federal taxes and no mixing of the 2 at all.”
That is exactly where we need to go, but The Federal Government asyou know uses money to control our states governments from Washington DC instead of us.
We do indeed need to ban that, but what if we can’t ban it, then should not we compromise to at least demand it is proportional and unconditional, thus effectively neutering the propose of the problem as every state will ‘opt out’ and instead uses the money for their own better suited program.
When the Supreme Court ruled that the states could not be forced to expand Medicaid by the federal overlords, it removed from the Feds the ability to threaten to cut off all Medicaid funds if the state chose not to expand. That case took away the hammer the Feds like to use to force states to comply with D.C. dictates—i.e., continue to tax the state’s citizens for their share of the cost of a federal boondoggle while not allowing them to receive any of the funding for the boondoggle.
When the federal “free money” for the expansion runs out, the states that will be caught “by the ying yang” and be “squeezed” are the ones who volunteered to participate in this latest big government turkey expansion.
Despite the lies of the Soetoro and Haslam administrations, the Tennessee general assembly wasn’t buying—they still have fresh memories of the last expansion of a federal government medical program—TennCare—that started swallowing ever greater shares of the state budget.
The old Medicaid system basically was left to collapse in on itself rather than some basic but essential reforms done including the actual programs mission. What was intended for a program for elderly poor, deceased workers minor children, workers who became disabled and their children, was made a insurer for unwed mothers and absentee fathers as the mother and kids primary coverage. The state wasn't hunting fathers down.
The program essentially was allowed to collapse so the governor and a then DEM General Assembly could usher in a modified version of Hillary Care. That was in about the last two years or so of McWherter's last term as governor. Basically without any real thought or planning Tenncare which is a HMO based program was put in as the Medicaid replacement and it was immediately expanded. It had shills at all levels including then former governor Lamar Alexander.
Insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield at the time right before it was to be voted on in the General Assembly was buying full page what I would call scaremongering adds in Tennessee papers warning people Medicaid was failing and support Tenncare. They had a major HMO roll in the beginning as the biggest HMO in the program. They were telling doctors either sign on or loose their BC/BS private insured patients as well.
When Sundquist-R took office it only got worse. Former state officials who were heads or managers in departments that oversaw Medicaid were suddenly HMO directors or had postitons in Tenncare private sector. Fraud, abuse, over spending, corruption, and out right extortion, became the norm. To make matters worse once Sundquist-R realized this had created a major unprecedented budget catastrophe rather than saying hey lets shut it down Tenncare officials instead began trying to dis-enroll/drop persons from the program entirely. First on the target was the disabled. Then the elderly and disabled who were Medicare/Medicaid patients ran into major issues getting doctors because the Tenncare payments to doctors seeing Medicare/Tenncare patients was cut to a level below what a Medicare patient only payment would be for the doctor. I can explain it this way. Doctors who take Medicare AND Medicaid covered patients received a lower payment from Medicare and was supposed to be Medicaid making up the difference in the payment. Medicaid was a secondary insurer IOW.
Tenncare ended the Medicaid co-payment and doctors took a huge loss and by federal law could not bill the patient either. Doctors refused to take new patients who were Medicare & Tenncare covered. Again this was mainly the elderly and disabled because others did not qualify for Medicare.
The Sundquist-R administration basically for two terms ignored the issues. Nothing was stable. One trip to the pharmacy meds were covered the next time they weren't and there was no way to report fraud, get help, etc. I know all this because at that time I was fighting to get needed care for my severely disabled wife. She's a quadriplegic and we lost two primary care doctors with it taking months to find another. One closed her practice or rather the practice group she worked for laid off doctors and curtailed the number of doctors. We actually lost that doctor twice.
In the mean time the state budget crisis came to a head with the governor demanding a state income tax be passed. The General Assembly was split. Some GOP were loyal to the governor due to party loyalty most were not. When talk of the proposed Income Tax hit the media it triggered a grassroots Tax Revolt in Nashville. Te State Capitol Building and all nearby streets were shut down by angry Horn Honking Citizens while the bill was being debated and voted on. Enough GOP and DEMS voted NO and that was the end of the Income Tax idea and the governors second term was nearing an end. No Lawmakers wanted to even whisper Income Tax. It was poison to both parties.
So what happened to the budget? Ironically the new governor {previous to Haslam} who was a DEM and for the most part a Liberal except on fiscal issues made it very clear to the Tenncare HMO's. Either clean it up and straighten it up fast or he would shut the program down and it would default back to Medicaid. That one thing the governor did right. He wasn't afraid to close down the government or departments when needed. That crisis resolved itself.
Tenncare is still a mess and nightmare for the elderly and Disabled. Many of the protections and means to report abuses and fraud etc were lost. Medicaid oversight meaning the ones checking the books and services fell under the Office of The Inspector General who handled reports of neglect, abuse, billings for services not rendered, fraud, etc.
The lawmakers even today remember real well the fiasco Sundquist-R wrought on the state when he allowed it to expand beyond budget constraints with HMO calling the shots and running roughshod over patients and the state and they do not want a repeat of disasters past. Since the days of Sundquist Tennessee has become a Two House GOP Majority with most GOP more Conservative than Bill Haslam the current governor.
Now isn't it absolutely amazing all the fine details NBC did not report on about this issue and chose instead to make a Koch Brothers hit piece article? All Tennessee Freepers remember this horrid mess and lawmakers know that the political climate in their home districts won't tolerate a replay of that disaster again no matter who is in charge. As the man on the radio used to say "and now you know the rest of the story." LOL
Post 19 ping. The more likely reason for the “No” vote.
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