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…)