A post on
aspecialparent referred to Governor Bev Purdue (D) of North Carolina cutting specific services from the state budget. I wasn't able to see the specific story, but went looking for other links to follow up.
According to an article on
MyNC.com, the state is facing a $3 Billion deficit, and the upcoming budget proposes a number of cuts. Among them is a proposed $55 million reduction in the state's Medicaid program.
The state Senate (60% Democrat, 40% Republican by vote) has made the $55-million-cut proposal, while Govenor Purdue's own proposal was a more modest $14 million cut. Either way, it spells a cut in services and jobs.
The issue goes beyond state lines, however. A hot topic in Washington and anywhere else is Health Care reform. Currently, House Democrats are writing the proposed Health Care bill, and it reportedly involves $600 Billion in increased taxes, plus $400 Billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
You can read more of this story
here (Bloomberg):
June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said.
Democrats will work on the bill’s details next week as they struggle through “what kind of heartburn” it will cause to agree on how to pay for revamping the health-care system, Rangel, a New York Democrat, said today. The measure’s cost is reaching well beyond the $634 billion President Barack Obama proposed in his budget request to Congress as a 10-year down payment for the policy changes.
Asked whether the cost of a health-care overhaul would be more than $1 trillion over a decade, Rangel said, “the answer is yes.” Some Senate Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, say the costs will likely exceed $1.5 trillion.
House Democrats plan to release their legislation next week. Obama is working with Congress to get legislation to his desk by October.
The overall plan, while not specified in black and white, seems quite simple: Cut Medicare and other state/federal services, bring in the new Health Plan... and people will have no choice but to sign on.
So while the Feds are working on cutting Medicaid/Medicare expenditures, it's only natural that individual states will follow suit. You will expect to see more stories along the lines of the North Carolina story, and as long as the current plan to introduce a universal health care proposal moves ahead, each and every person who currently relies on Medicare/Medicaid will need to consider their options in the near future. It won't be peaceful.
Plus, we're still unsure at this point where the $600 Billion in new taxes will apply. I expect that number to increase as time progresses.
EDIT: Part of Obama's plan includes cutting federal funding to hospitals by $200 Billion over the next ten years. Hospitals and health providers are not happy (
story here).