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  1. You are right the money is not “free” we have already sent it Washington. It is Nebraskan’s money they are offering back to us. We have to choices we can spend it here or we can send it back to Washington. I think we already send too much to Washington. So if they want to send it back that is fine. For every dollar we leave on the table in Washington Nebraskans have to pay for in some way. It will cost the average Nebraskan about $150 per year to leave the money in Washington. We have already paid it in if they want to give it back we should take it. Washington will just send it elsewhere so why screw our own people. Healthcare is an industry so the money spent will improve Nebraska’s economy and provide a needed economic boost.

    Reply

    • Tom:
      Thanks for posting your comment. The point you raise is not unique, but it is fallacious in more than one way.

      First of all, this is NOT money Nebraskans have already sent Washington’s way. Medicaid expansion is just that — E-X-P-A-N-S-I-O-N. The program currently covers certain children and their parent(s), the disabled, and the elderly, all of whom make less than a certain income level. Expanded Medicaid is an entirely new entitlement program that covers anyone between the ages of 18 and 65 who makes less than the specified income. If we, as a state, choose not to cover those additional people, the money stays here. No federal taxes will be spent for matching funds in Nebraska and no state tax money will be collected and spent to pay for the rest.

      And it’s a canard to say that Washington will send Nebraska’s money to other states if Nebraska chooses not to expand Medicaid. If Nebraska does not spend Medicaid expansion monies, those funds are NOT transferred to other states. Under the legislation, the mandate in other states continues to be 138 percent of the federal poverty level, regardless of what Nebraska does. The FMAP (federal medical assistance percentage) in other states does NOT adjust according to how many states do or do not participate in the Medicaid expansion.

      As a further point about the money, if we expand Medicaid, given the annual deficits and overall federal debt we’re racking up, the money to pay for the expansion will not be our own. It’s money that our children and grandchildren will have to pay. If you’re a fan of vintage cartoons, you might recall Wimpy from the old Popeye show. Wimpy’s stock line was, “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Because Wimpy made this request in every episode of the show. sometimes repeating it to every other character he encountered, the implicit punchline was that, for Wimpy, Tuesday never came. If we expand Nebraska’s Medicaid Program, we’re essentially all Wimpys now, except we’re saying, “We’ll gladly leave our children and grandchildren to pay for the healthcare we want to give away free to others today.”

      If you think expanding an entitlement program will create an economic boom in Nebraska, you haven’t been paying attention. Read a subsequent article in the series re Pelosian Economics for my full response.

      Linda

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