Beebe: Arkansans paying 'hidden tax' for health care for poor
Posted: August 8, 2012 at 4:17 p.m.
Gov. Mike Beebe said Arkansans are paying a "hidden tax" for health care for the working poor in a speech Wednesday at the annual conference of the Association of Arkansas Counties.
Beebe said he spent 10 years on the board of a hospital in Searcy and knew that hospitals, doctors and other health care providers had to cover the bills of those who could not pay, and that patients who could pay bore the cost.
Arkansans should consider that when deciding whether to expand Medicaid under federal health care reform, Beebe said. The expansion would cover many of those costs, he said.
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What Gov. Beebe fails to mention is that just shifting the burden from the service users that will pay to the federal government does not magically make money appear to pay the fees. We covered service users will STILL have to pay for the services used by those who can't or won't pay only now we'll pay to the highly efficient federal government so they can reimburse the state government so they can pay the doctors and hospitals. Yep, that makes sense to me...I can see how adding layers of bureaucracy will make it cheaper. Just keep thinking - big government is good, this will only hurt for a minute, and I'll still respect you in the morning...
I'm normally a great fan of Gov. Beebe, but sometimes he tends not to tell both sides of the story.
Posted by: ZeroGee
August 8, 2012 at 4:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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