No ER For The Poor

[debrand]

msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/georgias-deal-tighten-er-access

In the US, ERs are required to accept everyone regardless of ability to pay. The US government pays the hospital for the cost of treating uninsured individuals in their ERs.

Georgia's lawmakers decided to not take the money to expand Medicare and help their health care system. Some of their rural hospitals are failing because the uninsured can't pay and the state doesn't have the funds to keep them active.

Governor Nathaniel Deal wants to allow hospitals to not treat uninsured patients in their ER

Deal’s solution isn’t to extend coverage to struggling families, thereby creating paying health care consumers for the hospitals; Deal’s solution is to make it easier for the hospitals to deny care to the struggling families.

[Coconut Flan]

That would be Medicaid that Georgia opted to not expand.

I spent a bit of last week helping people sign up for California Cares expanded Medi-Cal option.

[lizziesmom]

Another compassionate conservative exercising poor judgment and abuse of power.

[debrand]

That would be Medicaid that Georgia opted to not expand.

I spent a bit of last week helping people sign up for California Cares expanded Medi-Cal option.

Thanks for the correction. :embarrassed:

[PennySycamore]

My daughter gets Medicaid. Yes, she's a college grad, but she still has an entry level position. Fortunately, she lives in Connecticut which is a sane state. Even if her boyfriend didn't live there, there's no way in hell she'd move back to someplace that's so insanely conservative as South Carolina or Georgia.

[GeoBQn]

Gil Bates better hope that this line of thinking doesn't catch on in Tennessee.

[gustava]

My daughter gets Medicaid. Yes, she's a college grad, but she still has an entry level position. Fortunately, she lives in Connecticut which is a sane state. Even if her boyfriend didn't live there, there's no way in hell she'd move back to someplace that's so insanely conservative as South Carolina or Georgia.

None of my business and I'm not being snarky: If your daughter has a job, could she qualify for Obamacare?

[lexiloumarie]

None of my business and I'm not being snarky: If your daughter has a job, could she qualify for Obamacare?

There is an income minimum for Obamacare. If you're eligible for one, you're generally not for the other.

[doggie]

Fuck the people as long as we don't have to have obomacare nothing else matters.Thats what the GOP is about but can you really feel sorry for Georgia as they keep voting these Asshats into office? The Red states are always the poorest poorest educated to worst medical care use the most government money.

I feel sorry for the children as they are not responsible but all the adults who vote these worthless christians in office deserve what they get.

[Becket70]

The governor seems to have forgotten that he is the governor of all the people in his state, not just the insured ones. Secondly, turning people away from the ER is a potential public health risk. Both mean-spirited and ignorant. A twofer with this guy.

[artdecades]

so this person thinks abortion and euthanasia are bad because they take away human lives.

but letting someone who wants medical care die/not get treated because he or she can't afford it is totally above board.

[doggie]

so this person thinks abortion and euthanasia are bad because they take away human lives.

but letting someone who wants medical care die/not get treated because he or she can't afford it is totally above board.

pretty much. protect the babies then fuck you and suffer. These are people who think they are great Christians.

[PennySycamore]

None of my business and I'm not being snarky: If your daughter has a job, could she qualify for Obamacare?

She qualifies for Medicaid under Obamacare. Currently she works front desk at a hotel, but she'd thinking about applying for a drafting apprenticeship to build subs for the US Navy.

[Emkay]

Yes, the requirement is a federal law, Georgia can't just suddenly decide they're not going to treat emergency cases because someone can't pay. Though we've seen recently how some state legislatures have made it clear what they think of constitutionality when it comes to the bills they send through, so what makes me think a pesky federal law would get in their way?

[Mama Mia]

None of my business and I'm not being snarky: If your daughter has a job, could she qualify for Obamacare?

Obamacare isn't actually a thing. The Affordable Care Act does a number of things, including eliminating pre-existing condition exclusions, expanding Medicaid ( in states that participate ), setting areas that all insurance must cover, mandating individuals carry health insurance and setting up a centralized system where people can purchase insurance if they do not have it through their employer. In this system are many private health insurance carriers who offer a variety of insurance plans.

If someone qualifies for Medicaid they will be covered through through the Medicaid system. Otherwise they are just purchasing private insurance, which may be subsidized but will still require money paid out of pocket and will often have substantial deductibles and co-pays. 90% of the time someone will be better off with Medicaid, unless their employer offers an extremely comprehensive insurance plan, or they have on-going, hard to treat health issues and can afford to go to doctors who don't accept Medicaid, and can afford all the co-pays and deductibles.

Many people think of Obamacare as being a sort of Universal Health Care or National Health, like is provided in many countries. It's not.

[Stephanie66]

My daughter is also a recent college grad in a red state. She is a "contractor" so she has no insurance available and is also under the 130% of poverty level required for Obamacare. So she was in that hole.

We were able to add her to my husband's group policy in January, but it is not cheap. We have asked her to try to find something cheaper and we would pay for it, but my husband's policy is so awesome I don't think she will be able to find anything with that kind of coverage for less. Also, she can only be on it for a few more years. The hope is she will be able to afford insurance through Obamacare or get a job that provides it before then. It is scary, though.

My son lives with us, and he got the expanded Medicaid. What a difference a state makes.

I really think all of the poor people in Georgia should move to another state, preferably a blue one or KY. GA would very quickly learn how valuable the working poor are to their society.

[doggie]

All they have to do is vote the GOP out. Simple as that. If they don't they deserve what they get.

[debrand]

pretty much. protect the babies then fuck you and suffer. These are people who think they are great Christians.

Correction, protect the 'unborn' babies. Once you leave mom's body, you are on your own, kiddo.

[docmom]

Hospitals that receive MediCARE funds cannot turn anyone away from the ED without stabilizing them first (that includes women in labor). Medicaid has nothing to do with this law. Trust me, most hospitals aren't going to give up Medicare funding, even in Georgia, so despite what the governor says, they'll have to continue to treat uninsured people and, yes, they will fail financially without some state help.

The poor will not move to blue states. They very often can't. It's expensive to move.

Mrs2004 is exactly right. The ACA is nothing like a national health program. It's the counter to a national health program and was thought up by the republicans in conjunction with insurance companies which why it is so baffling that they are all against it.

[lizziesmom]

All they have to do is vote the GOP out. Simple as that. If they don't they deserve what they get.

I don't think it's that easy. Just the party affiliation "democrat" puts a candidate in a deep hole in most Southern states. It has to suck to be a progressive or otherwise in the minority and live somewhere like Georgia.

[FloraKitty35]

The people who vote these assholes into office get what they deserve, it sucks that those who don't deserve it get drug along for the ride. Maybe the south should be allowed to secede and stop dragging the rest of nation down with it.

[Black Aliss]

All they have to do is vote the GOP out. Simple as that. If they don't they deserve what they get.

Some times the only choice is to vote with your feet. Which is not always easy either.

[debrand]

The people who vote these assholes into office get what they deserve, it sucks that those who don't deserve it get drug along for the ride. Maybe the south should be allowed to secede and stop dragging the rest of nation down with it.

Except for NC.

Actually, I wouldn't be against the country breaking up. Let the states in the south turn their part of the country into a theocracy if they want but provide financial help for those of us who want to leave the south. I'd hate to be stuck here if the country broke apart.

[Stephanie66]

I love NC (we spend half the year here) but NC has been so gerrymandered that there is no way it will go blue again. We won't retire here because we will not willingly live in a red state.

It is probably easier to move than to "vote out the GOP" in most red states. And I agree that neither is easy.

[Childless]

Hospitals that receive MediCARE funds cannot turn anyone away from the ED without stabilizing them first (that includes women in labor). Medicaid has nothing to do with this law. Trust me, most hospitals aren't going to give up Medicare funding, even in Georgia, so despite what the governor says, they'll have to continue to treat uninsured people and, yes, they will fail financially without some state help.

The poor will not move to blue states. They very often can't. It's expensive to move.

Mrs2004 is exactly right. The ACA is nothing like a national health program. It's the counter to a national health program and was thought up by the republicans in conjunction with insurance companies which why it is so baffling that they are all against it.

I know! I don't understand it at all. Its a plan they came up with in the 90s to counter Clinton's universal healthcare plan. The ACA is nearly identical. Obama barely changed anything. The only reason I can come up with as to why they're so against it now is that a black democratic president implemented it.