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10/9/2009
Rep. Huebsch: Wisconsin is proof government health care isn’t the answer
As the health care debate rages on in Washington, the American people have been treated to a front-row seat to a government unsure of which direction to go – despite the same party controlling both houses of Congress and the presidency. Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi draws lines in the sand and moderate Democrats clash with their liberal colleagues over the merits of government plans, higher taxes and a mounting national debt. Republicans who weigh in on the mess in our nation’s capital find themselves being blamed for it. Just last month, President Obama stood before a joint session of Congress and scolded his critics, labeling their concerns “wild misrepresentations” and “scare tactics.”
The President may want to confer with political ally Jim Doyle before calling Republicans, Blue Dog Democrats, editorial boards and concerned taxpayers liars again. Governor Doyle’s expansion of government health care programs has yielded unforeseen demand, higher costs, corresponding cuts to existing programs and, just this week, a waiting list for those seeking coverage.
Like President Obama’s health care proposal, the governor’s plan takes effect after he and the Democrat legislature enacted a budget marred by tax hikes, new spending commitments, record debt levels and a $2.2 billion deficit to start the 2011 budget year. Since January, they have enacted $3.1 billion of new state taxes and fees, a $1.5 billion property tax hike on top of that, a 6% increase in spending, and $3.5 billion more of borrowing. The Democrat Congress has displayed similar handiwork, though on a much larger scale – think trillions instead of billions – and they barely even bother giving lip service to a “balanced budget” anymore.
Governor Doyle’s publicly stated goal for health care is to reduce the number of Wisconsinites without insurance – a number which is already lower than all but four states, according to the U.S. Census Bureau (Wisconsin ties with two others). In July, when the Department of Health Services (DHS) began enrolling adults without children in the BadgerCare Plus health care program for pregnant women and low-income children and their families, he said the state was taking the “final step toward 98 percent coverage.” The governor’s singular focus on expanding government programs has stalled needed reforms and swept aside real efforts to lower the cost and improve the quality of health care, but that’s an e-update for another day.
DHS Secretary Karen Timberlake said Governor Doyle will suspend enrollment by childless adults in BadgerCare Plus today and establish a waiting list so that the program remains “budget neutral.” In other words, according to the governor, Wisconsin can’t afford a continued expansion. He’s right, but it’s too little too late since Wisconsin was never in a position to afford the expansion in the first place.
The governor’s “budget neutral” plan promised to enroll tens of thousands more Wisconsinites in government health care programs without spending more for those programs. In reality, the two-year $215 million price tag is being offset by cuts within BadgerCare Plus and to Medical Assistance which serves seniors and blind and disabled individuals. Total cuts to existing programs are set to top $600 million in order keep state health care programs in the black and finance the expansion.
Whether it’s enough remains to be seen. Thirty-three thousand childless adults have signed up for BadgerCare Plus since July, already shattering the department’s enrollment estimate of 24,900 for the year. DHS continues to process tens of thousands of applications; on Monday, the governor put the total number at 60,000. Although DHS says it can fund 54,000 enrollees with $215 million, the jury’s still out on the program’s true cost. But, even if the department can make the numbers work, look for a waiting list of at least 20,000.
Expanding coverage to more people by reducing the resources committed to existing programs. Sound familiar?
President Obama has promised to pay for a portion of his government-run health care plan by cutting $622 billion from Medicare (the federal health care plan for seniors) and Medicaid (the health care plan administered by states for low-income families, pregnant women, blind and disabled individuals and seniors). According to media reports, Medicare alone would bear $500 billion of the cuts.
Forcing doctors, pharmacists and hospitals to accept smaller payments for treating patients in government programs allows politicians to wave a balance sheet that’s in the black. But the shell game merely shifts the costs to Wisconsin families, not once, but twice. Health care providers who are shorted by the government will (and already do) charge patients with private insurance more to stem their losses. Those same families will see their tax burden – along with their insurance bills – rise when spending cuts and waiting lists alone can’t contain the skyrocketing costs of continually expanded government programs.
This week, Governor Doyle said that “we have done everything we can in Wisconsin” and that the federal government must act. In other words, federal taxpayers should bail out a program state taxpayers couldn’t afford from the outset. A federal program isn’t going to fair any better. Wisconsin is proof that expanding existing programs to cover more people isn’t reform and it’s not sustainable.
Mike Huebsch is a Republican and represents the residents of the 94th Assembly District.
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• The $2.7 billion Wisconsin deficit no one told you about
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• Rahmlow: Why is Van Hollen dodging the Nebraska deal?
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| 2009 |
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• The Lawton-Bader files
• Yup, it’s the TAX LEVY, not the tax RATE
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• Is Rep. Nelson a political hack?
• Health care: The road ahead will be brutal
• Kagen's pandering again
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• How much do we bend over backward for seniors?
• The trouble with health care is paying for it
• Two-parent families: The Gold Standard
• Burri: Kids... the joys and blessings
• Very, very worried about health care
• Rep. Huebsch: Wisconsin is proof government health care isn’t the answer
• School district contracts push up tax levy
• What? Obama, the Peace Prize?
• TODAY - hearing on Campaign Finance Reform
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• CBO report is out - and the bill isn't even written yet?
• So, how much do YOU budget for health care?
• Burri: Copenhagen trip was amateurish
• “Sotomayor, you have blood on your hands...”
• Cap and Trade. Always follow the money
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• Important votes Tuesday, including Appleton Common Council
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• From Mark Gundrum: One of the greatest honors an American can experience
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• Joe Martin the best candidate in Appleton's 8th
• State programs to cut? - Volume II
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• Make cuts only AFTER you're elected....
• Getting serious: What programs can we cut?
• Rep. Steve Kagen joining me on Jerry Bader Show today
• Rep. Van Roy: Dental Care Pilot Program
• Has Dave Obey turned the corner on earmarks?
• Speaker Huebsch: Governor turns down Federal Aid?
• Mark Rahmlow: "We're Broke."
• As taxpayers, how do we know if it's a Chevy or a Lexus?
• This is trash talk - about a veteran
• Frank Lasee: Take time to get the Compact right
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• Any chances???
• I'm doing the Jerry Bader Show, today, the 11th
• Representative Frank Lasee: Final Waltz of the Season
• Guest Blog: It's not the county's business to be in the nursing home business
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• Lots of ideas. No money.
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• Kagen and Reagan in the same breath?
• Menasha: behind the 8-ball, but not biting the dust
• Any way you slice it, Wisconsin government wants (further) in on health care
• The World is Flat...what about health care?
• The PAC - too precious to fail. Day 3
• News follow-ups: Appleton West, Kagen at the White House
• Fox Cities PAC - too precious to fail - Day 2
• Fox Cities PAC - too precious to fail
• New Transit Tax coming your way
• Rep. Petri has his finger in the dike - I guess
• AASD Retirement Costs Burdensome
• Health care, health care, health care, health care
• Water rate increase was no slam dunk
• Education for all is just a bad dream
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