By Rozalynn Goodwin. Everyone seems to be quoting and tweeting the tender line of Miss Aibileen in “The Help”, “You is kiiiind. You is smaaaart. You is important.”

But there was another line in the blockbuster movie that moved me even more. I heard it and the heavens seemed to open. The light bulb came on.

Hilly Holbrook’s new maid is $75 short on one of the college tuitions for her twin sons and asks Hilly and her husband for a loan so she doesn’t have to choose which son should go to college. Doing the ‘Christian thing,’ Hilly refuses, “God does not give charity to those who are well and able.”

Twelve simple words from a fictional 1960’s character summed up our nation’s current political will regarding the poor. And allow me to condense this into just one word: selfishness.

We movie-goers were quick to see the bigotry in Hilly’s statement. The maid and her husband had been saving money from their meager wages for a long time and she wasn’t seeking a hand-out, but a loan she would pay off with her thankless labor. But I was also quick to see the hipocracy in those of us who identify ourselves as Christians regarding the poor–many like this maid are in temporarily tight spots by no fault of their own. I was convicted by the thought that a selfish Christian is just as much of an oxymoron as a Christian murderer. (more…)

By Rozalynn Goodwin. The rise of the Tea Party has come with increased concern over the federal deficit and strained state budgets, and cries for less government spending. The Medicaid program has a bright red bull’s eye target on its back, mainly because several erroneous stereotypes exist about its recipients who often don’t have the means to speak and fight for themselves.

The situation is no different in my state of South Carolina. Last week, one of our state senators referred to South Carolina’s Medicaid program as a “Mercedes health plan.”  Our Department of Health and Human Services responded by saying, “It’s a little bit of a stretch to call it a Mercedes.”

This morning, that same senator posted a guest editorial on FITSNews, “A Hand Up, Not a Hand-Out.”  In this piece, the independent pharmacy manager claims that Medicaid’s benefits are better than those of hundreds of insurance plans he works with.

“Hard working South Carolina taxpayers are forced to pay for premium coverage for others. These same hard working taxpayers could never afford these benefits themselves. Where’s the fairness in that? Welfare programs should be a “hand up” instead of a “handout.” Government assistance should be a temporary benefit instead of a lifestyle.”

The Senator says he and his colleagues in the Senate should focus on those unable to help themselves like the low-income elderly and mentally disabled. He then goes on to give two examples about welfare recipients who would rather get a check than work.

It’s disturbing that one of only six legislators in the entire South Carolina General Assembly with any type of health care experience would intermingle Medicaid and welfare as if the programs are the same. Some confuse the typical Medicaid recipient with the infamous Reagan-era “welfare queen.”  What an outrageous comparison.  Medicaid recipients don’t receive checks.  They receive access to health care services like primary care, prescription drugs, screenings, and hospitalizations.  High-paying-job-producing, tax-paying businesses get the checks and pump billions of dollars into the state economy both directly and indirectly. South Carolina hospitals, for example, employ more than 80,000 citizens, and contribute greatly to our state’s well-being and prosperity. Not to mention all the physician practices, nursing homes, health centers and other providers that do the same.

Let’s set the record straight on these Medicaid recipients seeking a hand-out in South Carolina:

• Two-thirds of Medicaid recipients live in working families, but their incomes are too low to afford insurance,
• Eligible families stay on Medicaid an average of only two years,
• A single parent making just more than $7,000 a year is too rich to qualify for Medicaid in South Carolina,
• And adults without children, regardless of their income, cannot qualify for Medicaid because they are categorically ineligible. (more…)

By Rozalynn Goodwin. Yes, I said “cooties.”  You remember that childhood imaginary disease believed to spread through contact with those infected or worse, those of the opposite sex.  The cooties epidemic has spread to Washington, DC, and has politicians frightened to work across the aisles for the greater good.  I heard that the lesson: “They Have the Cooties” takes up most of the first day of orientation for newly elected congressmen and senators.  This class perfects neophytes’ skills in murdering any attempts for bipartisanship.

Cooties can be deadly for a politician.  Just look at SC’s latest casualty, outgoing Congressman Bob Inglis.  His independent thinking and willingness to sometimes side with the other party were clear symptoms that he had been infected, and now he’s being sent home to be quarantined.  Senator Lindsey Graham’s case of the cooties is thought by some to be in the advanced stages.

Cooties are not only taking out politicians who think for themselves and for the good of America.  Cooties are also killing good policy.  The six-month extension of the FMAP (Federal Medical Assistance Percentage) increase appears to be the latest victim.  This temporary fiscal relief for states was first provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) back in February 2009 to prevent the decimation of state Medicaid programs at a time of rising unemployment and increasing Medicaid rolls.  This relief runs out the end of 2010 (right in the middle of most states’ fiscal years), and therefore produces a significant fiscal problem for state budgets.  Just last week, several governors from across the nation gathered in DC to lobby for this extension.  Guess whose governor was not there…

Earlier this year, it was widely assumed that this extension was a done deal, but Congress has been punked into inaction by some primary election results across the country that some believe reflect voters’ frustration with government spending.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I understand the need to be conservative in tough economic times, but I also understand the need to stimulate the economy and give our most economically vulnerable a helping hand.  It’s funny how we can bail out financial institutions and their wealthy executives, and turn a deaf ear to those truly suffering.

If FMAP is not extended, not only will SC’s disabled, very poor and senior citizens lose access to health care services, our state’s struggling economy will lose as well.  SC stands to lose over $200 million in federal dollars that could help patch our frail Medicaid budget and stimulate our economy with high-paying healthcare jobs and the accompanying exchange of goods and services.  (more…)

By Rozalynn Goodwin.  It’s pretty sad that we have come to the point that “civil discourse” must be taught on college campuses.  Parents, not professors, should teach children to be polite and courteous and to take turns listening and speaking.  But I guess with all the recent pre- and post-health reform tomfoolery displayed by juvenile-acting public officials and hate groups disguised as patriots, such coursework is necessary.

While  I was watching the televised health reform vote in the United States House of Representatives a few weeks ago, I heard someone yell, “Baby killer!” and thought, “Oh no!  Not again!  As if South Carolina hasn’t had enough embarrassment for the 21^st century!  Please don’t let it be one of our congressmen in another act of immaturity and lack of self-control.” 

Thank goodness my state doesn’t have a monopoly on grown people acting like undisciplined five year-olds.  Here’s to you, Texas!

We all read or heard about the spitting, cursing, racial slurs and vandalism that occurred during and after the bill’s passage.  We can debate about whether this was the eruption of a sedentary volcano filled with deep-seated bigotry or simply the lust for power out of control, but one thing is certain.  Elected officials in what many consider the most civilized of modern civilizations should exemplify civil discourse, setting examples for our children who will one day fill their shoes and run this country.  I would like to believe that most parents are teaching their children to respect others, so it doesn’t help our children to see such disrespect and intolerance in the highest offices of the land.  Our country may not demand that the men and women we elect to public office prove themselves to be role models of moral purity, but we should at least demand that they act their age.    

Let’s take this opportunity to condemn such behavior to our children, and reinforce the importance of good old-fashioned manners.  Maybe they can teach our elected officials a thing or two.

Halloween.  What an annoying time of year.  There are the innocent children dressed by their overzealous parents in costumes ranging from silly to sexy, harassing me for candy and invading my personal home space.  Then there are the people decorating their yards with scary ghosts, goblins, and dead dummies, making it virtually impossible for me to take my three year-old daughter on a nice stroll through our usually unassuming neighborhood without freaking her out.

I’m more aggravated though about how some political circles have spooked the health reform debate.  It’s a perfect horror movie with serial killers of anything Obama, scare tactics aimed to torment and take advantage of citizens who are vulnerable and unlearned about a complex issue, and gangbangers of a majority party unwilling to compromise for bipartisanship.

Take for instance some of the absurd television and internet ads on health reform.  One ad claims that 300,000 women will die from breast cancer if health reform legislation is passed.  An online ad claims that in Massachusetts, you can go to jail if you don’t have the right health care insurance.

And vocal anti-reform providers are scaring people even more.  I participated in a recent panel discussion on health reform and afterwards, a businesswoman expressed fear of reform because a physician who had just worked to revive her 7 year-old niece from a deadly aneurism told her that her niece would have died had health reform been in effect because quality of care would be compromised.

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