Sweet.
Posted on 04/12/2005 3:08:44 PM PDT by SmithL
NASHVILLE - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that state officials do not need a judge's approval to drop 323,000 adults from Tennessee's expanded Medicaid program.
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a ruling issued from Cincinnati that a federal judge overstepped his authority in January when he blocked the state from making the cuts.
Gov. Phil Bredesen wanted to cut the rolls to save money on the $8 billion TennCare program, and he got approval last month from the federal government, which pays two-thirds of the bill.
TennCare recipients went to court to protect their benefits, and U.S. District Judge William J. Haynes blocked the cutbacks pending a hearing.
The appeals court said Haynes improperly restricted "the state's substantive policy choices in altering the TennCare program."
He must've thought he was operating under the Ninth Circuit.
Sweet.
Sounds good to me!
A lot of people who deem themselves "kinder and gentler", with no regard whatsoever to the limits of taxpayers' abilities, will have a hissy fit at this proposal.
I see the word "expanded" and start getting the chills.
Social security pretty much destroyed. Medicare headed that way and Medicaid right in there contributing.
Just expanding welfare without the common honesty of calling it by its rightful name.
Will "citizens" who bear none of the cost support limitless expansion?
What do you think?
TennCare isn't just Medicaid (insurance for the destitute). TennCare is universal health care. Why is the federal government footing 2/3rds of the bill for this?
When Tenncare (pronounced Hillarycare) was created they merged the Medicaire system with the state's indigent care system. The Federal Government continued to pay what they would for Medicaire, and the state contributed the rest.
I suppose that when they made it so that everyone from the governor to my pet cat qualified, they expected the Feds to contribute more. Then they could trot it out as "a working model of universal health care." Somehow Congress neglected to play along and now they have bloated roles and the people of Tennessee and the insurance companies are paying for a system that expands at an incredible rate.
I think our Rat governor wanted to lose that case so he could push the income tax again. In fact, there are those that believe that was the sole purpose of the program.
If this many had been dropped from the roles when first proposed, it might have fixed things. Now, I suspect, it is like bailing water from an already sunken boat.
These people will be voting for Hillary! in 2008.
Many states are doing this,its a big mistake. IMO
If we weren't paying for illegals' health care, we'd have the money for this.
I've paid a lot of state taxes, but I needed the state plan for a year because I couldn't get access to any health care for a year.
Pubbies should make a push to fix the health system for low wage people, and some middle wage. It's not welfare, its the delivery system.
The system is getting ridiculous. $100,000/wk hospital bills? Goodness sakes.
My two cents.
How very generous of our black robed royalty to allow the state executive and legislative branches to have some say in how to run the program they created.
I don't understand Smith, why did you let them pass TennCare in the first place? Oh, I know..you were taking care of problems in CA at the time. Well, you need to get back home and straighten this mess out NOW.
On a more serious note..it sounds like y'all are saying that
it is either cut the Tenncare or start paying a state income tax. Is that right? Just who are these 323,000 people? And, if they don't qualify for Medicare why are you giving them money?
I'm a Tennessee resident. Tenncare was adopted under Ned McWherter (sp?), the DemonRat governor who immediately preceded the RINO Sundquist, who departed in ignominy in 2002 after attempting to ram a state income tax down our throats and ended up being so bitterly, and justifiably, hated by the Republicans that he couldn't even attend a Republican rally. Tenncare is an expansion of the Medicaid program that all states are Federally required to maintain for medically indigent persons. It enables just about anybody who wants to to get on the medical dole. As a result, it quickly became a giant scam that was eating more and more of the state's total revenue stream with no sign of letting up.
Phil Bredesen (D), our current governor, decided there was no way he could effectively campaign for an income tax and was confronted with the need to cut Tenncare or all the rest of the state government. Hence, he proposed these cuts and has now been vindicated by the Sixth Circuit.
This is a terrific victory for Tennessee taxpayers and an equally big one for all taxpayers. For once the courts have allowed the political process to operate. It might also show that the efforts of we Freepers and other conservatives in criticizing the judiciary are beginning to have an impact. Certainly, it should encourage us to keep up our efforts, since the best way to clean up the imperial judiciary is to induce the judges to do the cleanup themselves.
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