Join the debate

Jump in the Crossfire by using #Crossfire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Jump in the Crossfire by using #Crossfire
on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

June 3rd, 2014
06:00 AM ET

Could 'Medicaid blockade' kill 17,000?

Van Jones says political squabbling threatens the lives of tens of thousands stuck between Medicaid and Obamacare.

Posted by
Filed under: Obamacare • Reloaded • Van Jones
soundoff (20 Responses)
  1. CALIFORNIA

    I was directly told by my insurance broker that Obamacare was in fact the reason my insurance got worse.

    June 4, 2014 at 1:17 pm | Reply
    • John de Leon

      And you actually believe your Insurance broker? Private insurance companies make it hard for current policy holders to acquire health insurance cost less tha it should to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. The truth will always come out in the end.

      June 8, 2014 at 6:49 am | Reply
  2. Timmy Suckle "The Medical Cartel Puppet"

    The Medical Cartels' hate this post.

    I kissed my way up to CEO at a health insurance company. Now I take over $1,000,000 of your health care dollars for NO VALUE ADDED to your health care. And that’s just me. Now think about how many other CEOs, VPs, Directors, Managers, etc. are at my company alone. Now multiply that by thousands of others at hundreds of other health insurance companies. From 10 to 25% of your health care dollars go towards administration that adds NO VALUE to your health care. But my company’s PAC dollars will continue to fool you little people into thinking that a single payer system will be bad. Little people like you are so easy to fool. Little people also don’t realize that a single payer system is the ONLY system that would allow little people (as an entire country) to negotiate better health care prices. Little people don’t realize that the Medical Cartels already know that. And that is the reason why the Medical Cartels spend so much PAC money from the hospitals and doctors lobbying against a single payer system. Some little people say that a single payer system would cost you little people more. But if that were true, then wouldn’t the hospitals and doctors WANT that extra money? Yes they would. So why do the Medical Cartels lobby against a single payer system? It’s because the Medical Cartels know it would allow little people to negotiate better health care prices. And that’s what the Medical Cartels are afraid of. Period.
    But us big wigs at insurance companies, hospitals, and pharmacy companies don’t ever need to worry about health care no matter what it costs. We get our health care paid for one way or another by you little people. And we get the little people that work at our companies to contribute to our PACs. And us big wigs say it’s to protect the little peoples’ jobs. But in reality it would be in the little peoples’ best interest to NOT contribute to the PAC. Again, little people are so easily fooled. I won’t ever have to worry about losing my job with so many little people being brain washed by the Medical Cartels’ PAC money. Not only that, the Medical Cartels’ PAC money is used to elect so many republicans that will never allow a single payer system. Republicans have always fought against any meaningful health care reform. But that’s what our Medical Cartels’ PACs pay them for. Politicians can be bought so easily.
    Pretty soon the only people that will be able to afford health care is us big wigs. And that’s the way it should be. We don’t want you little people using up the resources when we need them. And once again, I thank you little people for capping my SS tax at the $117,000 level. Now I only pay 1.17% SS tax and you little people pay 6.2%. Also, thank you for extending my tax breaks. I’m using the extra money on my vacation houses.

    June 3, 2014 at 4:47 pm | Reply
    • southerngent

      Ha, ha, ha, Yeah right! Not even a good lie!

      June 3, 2014 at 6:07 pm | Reply
      • Just replace

        Just replace Timmy Suckle with any CEO of any insurance company and then it's all true.

        June 4, 2014 at 9:26 am |
      • Sorry

        All true.

        June 4, 2014 at 2:09 pm |
      • southerngent

        Just replace Just replace Timmy Suckle with any CEO of any insurance company and then it's all true.

        June 4, 2014 at 9:26 am |

        Sorry All true.

        June 4, 2014 at 2:09 pm |

        How many jobs do these companies provide? Thousands, tens of thousands, the ignorance from all of you prove even if you got $15.00 ph., you couldn't hold the job of management, so brainless DM AZZES who will do it?

        June 4, 2014 at 6:28 pm |
      • Sorry

        @southern buffoon – Let them get other jobs. Health insurance is a total waste of money. It adds NO VALUE to your health care. Suppose I started a company that charges you 25% more for your gasoline than what it really costs. A gasoline insurance company if you will. When you buy your gasoline, you submit a bill from the gas company to me and I will pay the gas company. When the gas companies raises the price of gas, I will raise the price of your gasoline insurance. But don't worry!!! I will create thousands of JOBS!!!!

        June 9, 2014 at 5:23 pm |
    • Mr Stiles

      Yeah that single payer system seems to be working out grand at the VA doesn't it?

      June 3, 2014 at 11:04 pm | Reply
      • It's working well for Medicare

        It's working well for Medicare too.

        June 6, 2014 at 11:11 am |
      • It IS working

        Those veterans could go to any other hospital. But why don't they? Hmmmm – Because the VA IS working well.

        June 6, 2014 at 1:59 pm |
      • Mr Stiles

        @It is working
        You must be seeing some other news reports than I am. Directors don't resign under fire at institutions that are working. People aren't dying on secret waiting lists at institutions that are working. You are either a paid shill or are living in a fantasy world if you think the VA is working in any sort of semi efficiency. Which is it?

        June 16, 2014 at 7:00 am |
  3. NATHAN WIMBERLY

    Guns Over People teatards couldn't care less. If millionaires died they would.

    June 3, 2014 at 1:58 pm | Reply
    • southerngent

      If millionaires died who will pay for your free stuff?
      If millionaires died who will pay for your ect, etc, ect, and so on and so on and so on?

      Btw, You would be bitxhing like crazy if you won the lottery about how much the government took from you in taxes and I know for sure you wouldn't give the rest back. So if you don't want to die don't play the lottery!

      June 3, 2014 at 6:36 pm | Reply
      • NJD

        If "millionaires died" then the little people they took their money from would have more money to spend...

        June 4, 2014 at 9:27 am |
      • southerngent

        NJD
        If "millionaires died" then the little people they took their money from would have more money to spend...

        June 4, 2014 at 9:27 am |

        Ha, ha, ha, The 1% pay 37% of ALL INCOME TAXES. THE UNITED STATES COLLECTED 2.2 TRILLION DOLLARS FROM INCOME TAX IN 2013, OKAY, NOW SUBTRACT 37% FROM THIS AMOUNT = 814 BILLION, NOW SUBTRACT 814 BILLION FROM 2.2 TRILLION = 1.386 TRILLION FROM THE TOTAL, NOW, WHO IS GOING TO MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE TO PAY FOR YOUR FREE STUFF. DUH! THE MIDDLE-CLASS BUT NOT FOR LONG! THE (GOVERNMENT FOR ME PEOPLE) LIKE YOURSELF WON'T DO IT! BTW, THAT INCLUDES OBAMACARE! YOUR BS PROVES LIBERAL IGNORANCE AT ITS BEST. HA, HA, HA BUT IT WAS WORTH A LAUGH!

        June 4, 2014 at 7:46 pm |
      • You're poor

        @southern buffoon – You're poor. You are on SS and Medicare. Now who's getting the free stuff? The GOP want to cut your benefits from your "Social Welfare Programs" (as the GOP call them). Yet YOU keep voting GOP. That's really pretty stupid of you. But it's your right to be stupid. Carry on.

        June 6, 2014 at 2:05 pm |
  4. Mr Stiles

    Sorry Mr. Jones but your assumption is incorrect. Anyone can see a Doctor at any time if they have a need at an ER. Whether someone has health insurance through their job, Medicare, Medicaid or whatever none of those options has anything to do with seeing a Doctor. Its how to pay for a Doctor. I have insurance thru my job. I have deductibles, co pays/co insurance and an out of pocket limit that must be met before my insurance pays one thin dime. I am $1,000 per person out of pocket before the insurance pays anything and I still foot 15% of in network and 40% of out of network until I reach my out of pocket limit. I am ultimately responsible for the final payment of medical expenses to providers. Medicaid doesnt work that way. It just pays. I live in Georgia, which is still wrangling with Medicaid expansion. The 3 offices I deal with the most all have signs up that note that they are not accepting any new Medicaid patients. Why? Because it doesn't make financial sense for them to do so. Just like it doesn't make financial sense for Georgia which is required to have a balanced budget. Yes the Federal government is paying full freight now. How about 3+ years from now? Money doesn't grow on trees and the past 5 years have shown how deep cuts can go when the economy sours. Georgia drastically cut programs to balance the budget. Teachers were given unpaid furloughs up to 10 days a year. Schools went to 4 day a week schedules. Most state agencies were forced to operate year to year with no long term planning or projects. All that from an economic downturn without a Medicaid expansion. I would hate to think what an open ended commitment to pay 10% of basically unlimited healthcare would look like especially considering how such costs have risen in my lifetime. Does something need to be done to help everyone have access to health insurance? Yes. Do I as a Georgia taxpayer want to see every other state service curtailed to pay for it? No. And ultimately that's what we are talking about: How to pay for medical needs. In the past I would have argued for Federally run clinics to be operated in existing facilities at military bases, etc. but the VA debacle has that looking like a bad idea. What is the solution? I don't know but throwing money at a problem until it solves itself doesn't work as we have already seen in IRAQ and Afghanistan. We need a better idea.

    June 3, 2014 at 7:38 am | Reply
    • Truth be Told

      Actually Mr. Jones is correct in his assessment. Yes you can still go to the emergency room to receive medical treatment at the time of an emergency. This doesn't cover any additional follow ups or treatment for long term health issues. You need to be able to she a doctor regularly for those and they are hard to come by or impossible to see unless you have healthcare insurance. Not to mention the cost of medication is outrageous even when you have insurance. I work with the WORKING poor everyday and see working people who make too much for medicaid, which isn't hard to do ($7000 a year for a family of four). These families don't make enough to afford medical insurance even if it was just $100 a month. It is STUPID not to accept more money from the federal government to fund this expansion, especially when it will save money for the states who are struggling with budgets because they cut taxes for big businesses.

      June 7, 2014 at 7:35 pm | Reply
  5. Minnie Mouse

    I don't feel this has anything to do with the Republicans hating Obamacare. Your number is way off because you not even counting the millions of people who are homeless and the ones also on the streets who are mentally ill. These people can't get any insurance either because they have no permanent residency. You have to have a physical address. If people don't have friends of family, they have no address to give to the insurance companies.

    There are to many people that need assistance and the states are only getting temporary assistance for an extended period of time from our government. After the time period is up, then the state have to figure out how to pay for all of these people who are on Medicare and Medicaid. This is the issue, how are all the states going to pay for everyone???
    Taxes will have to be raised or something is going to have to be cut.

    June 3, 2014 at 7:03 am | Reply

Post a comment


 

CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not pre-screened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.