Expanding Medicaid: A Bad Move for Many Reasons | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: We are please to add the words of North Carolina Senator Thom Goolsby to our stable of right-thinking and most capable writers here at BCN. In this timely past post, not yet published on BCN, we are exposed to the NC Senator's take on voter fraud, which is very real in North Carolina.

    Have the Republicans lost their minds by rejecting Medicaid expansion? "Yes" is the answer, according to liberal Democrats and their allied editorial writers across the state.

    Supporters of socialized healthcare are up in arms at the GOP's opposition to the first phase of ObamaCare - setting up a state healthcare exchange. With their support of Senate Bill 10, Republicans in the General Assembly recently sent a clear message to President Obama: "We don't want your big government takeover of healthcare in our state."

    Since the legislation was introduced, liberals have posited outrageous claims. The most ridiculous allegation is that by turning down the federal offer to expand Medicaid, 500,000 individuals from the lowest income families in North Carolina will miss out on free healthcare. This is the first and biggest lie.

    In a study conducted by Harvard, Boston University and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, as many as 80% (400,000) of the recipients would be taken from the roles of privately insured individuals. That's right, hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians would drop their current private coverage in order to receive coverage from Uncle Sam and Daddy Barack.

    There is nothing surprising about this. The same thing happened with the federally mandated State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). According to the Congressional Budget Office, up to 50 percent of SCHIP enrollees were privately insured prior to the federal mandate.

    Another big lie is that opponents of ObamaCare are rejecting billions of dollars in federal payments from 2014 to 2021 for no good reason. Such a claim is ridiculous. Under ObamaCare, if the state does not create its own exchange, the federal government will create one.

    State leaders are wise in their refusal to opt into the expensive provisions of ObamaCare. The bill's primary sponsor, Sen. Tom Apodaca (R-Henderson) said, "We are not running a state exchange because, to be honest, there's no such thing. A state exchange gives no state control, but would cost the people of North Carolina $100 million a year. The federal government chose to mandate health exchanges, so it should pay for them." The Senate Rules Chairman went on to point out that ObamaCare's changes to Medicaid would cost North Carolina almost $2 billion through 2019.

    State leaders are very concerned about the federal government's attempt to bait them with "free" federal money. The fear is that these funds are just as likely to phase out after a few years, leaving North Carolina taxpayers holding the bag.

    Shortfalls in Medicaid funding are nothing new to the state. A recent audit shows that NC taxpayers have already bailed out Medicaid to the sum of $1.4 billion over the last three years. In 2012 alone, the General Assembly was forced to pay over $500 million in a surprise Medicaid shortfall. State leaders have demonstrated great wisdom by not ceding any additional authority to the federal government.

    The English writer Ann Radcliffe said, "I never trust people's assertions. I always judge them by their actions." She made a good point. To date, Washington has refused to provide key information regarding costly rules and regulations that North Carolina will have to follow under any such plan. If the past actions of the feds are indicative of their future moves, it is wise to expect a shift of massive administrative, infrastructure and operational costs to North Carolina taxpayers in the future.

    The bottom line is this: after many months of careful consideration, our elected officials have decided not to pursue a state-based health exchange that is not mandated by federal law. ObamaCare was forced on the citizens of the state against their will by the federal government. It is up to our political leaders at the state level to do everything possible to protect us from any and all unreasonable costs and burdens as Washington recklessly moves to implement socialized healthcare.

    Thom Goolsby is a state senator, practicing attorney and law professor. He is a chairman of the Senate Judiciary 1 and Justice and Public Safety Committees.