According to Healthrender, Louisiana stands to lose 1.566 billion dollars. That's billions lost to the state budget that is often in arrears and requires last minute cuts in programs and institutions that have already been cut to the bone.States not expanding Medicaid under Obamacare will be collectively lose more than $35 billion in federal funds in 2022 alone, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.
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The Commonwealth Fund further explained the study's methodology as follows:
Federal funds that pay for state Medicaid programs are raised through federal general revenue collection—taxes paid by residents in all states—whether or not they participate in the program. Therefore, taxpayers in states not participating in the Medicaid expansion will bear a share of the overall cost, without benefitting from the program. Glied and Ma estimated the net loss of federal funds to states that do not expand Medicaid by using projected federal Medicaid spending in each state and calculating the federal Medicaid-related taxes paid by each state.
Almost certainly people in Louisiana will die from treatable diseases and conditions because of the lack of health insurance, either because treatment was started too late, or because treatment was inadequate.
So far as I can make out, Jindal refuses the money for the sake of furthering his political ambitions on the national scene. He has campaigned around the country since he first assumed the office of governor in Louisiana. His extensive travels for political purposes leave him little time in the state which he governs so incompetently. Even so, Jindal has managed to destroy or maim multiple institutions and programs that took decades to build and will require generations to recover if the people of Louisiana ever have the will to elect governors who will build up rather than destroy.
Our next governor will probably be David Vitter.
ReplyDeleteOh joy! I expect you're right, Ormonde.
DeleteAre you SERIOUS???
DeleteSERIOUS, JCF. Vitter is bored with the Senate. He's not popular there even with Republicans.
DeleteAn absolute travesty. While you've exposed Jindal's true motivations (national political ambitions), what are the excuses he offers for his actions? Or is he so disconnected from his electorate or so callous that he doesn't even bother to offer an explanation?
ReplyDeletePrairie Soul, the only reason I've heard Jindal give is that the program will cost too much nine years from now, when the state has to pay 10% of the cost. In nine years! An awful lot could happen in nine years, and what about the hundreds of thousands of people who need help now?
DeleteHe's no Huey Long, who at least DID do a great deal to help the common people of Louisiana. But I'll bet, without looking it up, that a big majority of your fellow citizens over there think Jindal is doing a dandy job. As someone has said, in a democracy people get the government they deserve.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Russ. However you categorize Long, he truly did "Share the Wealth".
DeleteUnder Long's leadership, hospitals and educational institutions were expanded, a system of charity hospitals was set up that provided health care for the poor, massive highway construction and free bridges brought an end to rural isolationism, and free textbooks for schoolchildren. He remains a controversial figure in Louisiana history, with critics and supporters debating whether he was a dictator, demagogue or populist.
From Wikipedia.