Capitol Broadcasting: Coronavirus Means We Should Expand Medicaid, You Know

Remember, we keep being told that this is not political, but, then, groups like Capitol Broadcasting Corporation, which runs several properties here in NC, including TV stations WRAL, WRAZ, WILM, along with 5 radio stations, keep proving themselves wrong

Editorial: State should make sure ALL in need are tested for coronavirus

In the emergency $8.3 billion spending package approved in Congress last week to address the coronavirus outbreak, there’s at least $13 million in emergency funding set aside for North Carolina to address local public health needs associated with the outbreak.

Several states have already announced that some of those funds will be used to pay for – or substantially subsidize – the cost of coronavirus testing for patients who lack health coverage. In most states, particularly the 38 that have expanded Medicaid, it is a relatively small number.

But that is not the case in North Carolina because it hasn’t expanded Medicaid. Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration is giving serious consideration to using some of those emergency federal dollars to pay for those who do need to be tested but cannot afford it. Such a move would be the right thing, not just helping those with financial challenges, but also because it is the right thing to protect the public health.

But this is a state where the General Assembly’s leadership has steadfastly refused to extend health coverage to those who need it but cannot afford it. Should Cooper decide to use the emergency federal funds for the coronavirus testing, no one should ignore the very real possibility legislative leaders might try to block it.

Preposterous, you say. Not so fast.

Yeah, it is preposterous, and just shows the way Democrats are using this for political purposes. And, for all the lofty yammering about free tests for all, this is really about using coronavirus to push to expand Medicaid

In opinion poll after opinion poll, North Carolina citizens are overwhelming in their support of expanding Medicaid.

But North Carolina elected leaders turn a cold shoulder. They say if anyone wants health coverage “the best thing that folks can do is get a job.” The reality is that most of the more than half-million North Carolinians who would qualify for assistance under Medicaid Expansion are working or are the children of parents who are working. They just don’t make enough money and don’t work for firms that provide health coverage.

They won’t be so enthused about expanding Medicaid when they have to pay for it and service is rationed.

These federal funds SHOULD be used to be sure EVERYONE who needs to be tested, regardless of financial status, has it done. The legislature needs to stay out of the way.

The General Assembly hasn’t said word one about this.

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20 Responses to “Capitol Broadcasting: Coronavirus Means We Should Expand Medicaid, You Know”

  1. I thought we passed a law requiring everyone to have health insurance, whether or not they could afford it.

  2. John says:

    Most Americans who have Medicare think it works quite well I know if I do

    • formwiz says:

      Medical Assistance, or Medicaid, is not Medicare.

      It’s welfare run by the states. So put down the bottle and stop lying.

    • david7134 says:

      John
      How would you know what most A!africans think?? One of your silly polls?? Why did you go to jail?? Why did UPS fire you?? Are you still on drugs??

    • Kye says:

      Nobody’s saying Medicare isn’t working “quite well. They’re saying the people who receive it have paid into it their working life and still pay into it when they retire. If the commies bring in 50 million people who have not been paying into it then it will go bankrupt. Plus, if they’re like me they have a Medicare Advantage plan which is private insurance to complete coverage. Medicare Advantage is Private insurance the very thing the radical left wants to completely eliminate in their plan. It won’t work.

      There are ways to cover most Americans, there is no way to cover ALL Americans with one plan unless you want all of us to have shit coverage just so you can say you covered everybody.

      Trump 2020 Don’t put AOC in charge of your loved one’s healthcare.

  3. Elwood P. Dowd says:

    EVERY advanced nation except the US has a form of universal healthcare and SPEND on average 1/2 as much per person as the US does. Universal healthcare in the US could save working class Americans billions of dollars a year.

    • David D says:

      The only argument the left has is health insurance.

      Literally Obama put the health insurance industry in charge of writing their own Obamacare bill which screwed the American citizen while greatly benefiting the healthcare industry.

      He did this very shrewdly and the democrats went along with it. I don’t know if you guys remember but their were several hidden videos of Dems telling their constitutents Not to worry it was written to fail so that the USA will have no choice but to offer Universal health care.

      Well I tell you what. The healthcare insurance in this country SUCKS for most people. My wife still works. She gets blue cross/blue shield which at one time was a pretty damn good insurance. Today it pays 50 percent of most things, with the exceptions of well care and medicines which the co-pays are usually ZERO for generics and 10 bucks on non-generics.

      If it wasnt for the fact I had insurance from my job and combined they work to cost us almost zero per year. My wife had outpatient surgery back in august. Her insurance paid like 3000 dollars of an almost 7000 dollar bill. Had that been our only insurance we would have been out 4 grand. My insurance then paid all but 300 dollars of this total bill. combined I was out 300 bucks.

      In total we pay about 155 a month for our two health care insurances from our respective employers.

      See this is why the left does not want the poor to leave the plantation. They want to convince them that a bad economy is good for them. That no jobs and welfare is their only hope in life.

      the left are peddlers of victim hood. How dare the poor leave the plantation, get a job and have some hope. How dare they? Trump has begged Paul Ryan for 2 years to give him something to sign into law to help with this. NOTHING. He has begged Nancy Pelosi the same.

      SHE WONT TOUCH HEALTH CARE BECAUSE…its the one thing they win on despite their only plan bankrupting the world and putting millions out of a job.

      The lefts plan is to herd us ALL ONTO THE PLANTATION and SPOONFEED US WELFARE and tell us to STFU.

      • Elwood P. Dowd says:

        So you would eliminate Medicare so that seniors could experience all the advantages of private insurance?

        • David D says:

          You are over 67 years old. YOu have private insurance or your a fool.

          No?

        • Kye says:

          Elwood, Medicare works because EVERYONE isn’t covered just a certain group and even they need to get some private coverage to make it work well.

          You seem to think that “Every other nation except the US” is a good reason for us to do something. It’s not, it’s an observation. Does every other nation have 330 million people of every race? Does every other nation pay it’s own defense since 1945? Does every other nation have a low tax rate and no VAT? Does every other nation have Americans who (with the exception of leftists who are pussies) are very independent and don’t like to be told they HAVE to buy something or join something?

          If you and other radical leftists really wanted to create the best insurance in history America is the place to do it. But you are not really interested in insurance, you’re interested in power. Forcing people to do your bidding. If you had been willing to sit down and actually hammer out a VOLUNTARY health plan without all your government control nonsense we probably could have. If we can send a man to the moon we can make a viable health plan that works. But you guys decided it was more important to to use health insurance as a platform to force Christians and other religious folks to pay for abortions and sex change operations and other political, not medical, treatments.

          Abortions, trans sex, breast enhancements, nose jobs, lippo suction, and other similar operations are almost always elective surgeries and should never be covered under any normal policy. Even pregnancy should be optional. But you leftists use “healthcare” as medical warfare like you turn everything else into warfare.

          Just like if you really cared about “climate change” you’d be out marching for nuclear power. You are professional prevaricators and never state your actual intents on anything. If you all would stop bullshitting every thing maybe we’d listen.

          Trump 2020 Stop child rapin’ Joe

          Now no sane person would trust a leftist to do a healthcare plan for all the tea in that shithole China.

          • Elwood P. Dowd says:

            Kye,

            It’s an observation and an example. Right-wingers are pussies, by the way.

            Actually it’s the reactionary rightists interested in power. The libs want universal healthcare because it will be cheaper, more efficient and make life easier for the working classes.

            Making pregnancy and births not covered by insurance would sure cut down on births wouldn’t it. Maybe we could go back to home births. Sure, child mortality would go up, as would abortions but that’s ok as long as it saves a conservative $10 a year.

            You will never listen. You have access to all the facts on global warming and you still believe it’s a hoax by scientists, politicians, clergy, corporations and commies, but you believe what a TV reality host tells you even with his history of fraud and lying.

            TrumptyDumpty 2020: Stop Child Rapin’ Don.

            Yet you trust Don Raper and his Mad Men in Congress to build you a “cheaper” and “better” healthcare system. Maybe they could describe their plan.

        • formwiz says:

          Straw man again.

          No mention of Medicare, although you’re just arguing with yourself, so it’s just a tale told by 2 idiots instead of 1?

          Did Troll Central to try the Socratic approach?

    • formwiz says:

      EVERY advanced nation except the US has a form of universal healthcare and SPEND on average 1/2 as much per person as the US does

      And it shows. You want to wait years for surgery? Get handed a death pill when you’re too old?

      Go right ahead. I’m sure we’d be glad to pass the hat.

      And right now, all those advanced nations are having a far worse time with the red China flu than we are.

      Universal healthcare in the US could save working class Americans billions of dollars a year.

      Dying early does that.

    • david7134 says:

      Jeff,
      You keep rolling out that same comment over and over. And we all know it is a lie.

      • formwiz says:

        He never mentions all the taxes needed to almost pay for it.

        Fact is, most of those “advanced nations” have economies equal to MS or AL, people live in shoe boxes, and have to put up with Moslems raping and murdering at will because the governments of “advanced nations” want a slave class that will vote for them.

        • Elwood P. Dowd says:

          The total healthcare costs are about half on average per person in the other nations. That’s the total. Health taxes, copays, premiums, out of pocket – total.

          What does house size and immigrants have to do with the cost of healthcare?

          It’s almost like a diversion.

          • formwiz says:

            The total healthcare costs are about half on average per person in the other nations. That’s the total. Health taxes, copays, premiums, out of pocket – total.

            Because so is the service. If there is any service at all. That’s why anybody who can comes here for health care.

            What does house size and immigrants have to do with the cost of healthcare?

            Straw man. Nobody mentioned immigrants. Size of home, etc. was merely to illustrate how poor most of the people in these “advanced nations” really are.

            But, to answer your pitiful attempt at deflection, another Leftist jerk similar to yourself, but who happened to be a judge, ruled that illegals were guaranteed all the same services as Americans.

            It’s almost like a diversion.

            It was. Too bad it didn’t work.

          • Elwood P. Dowd says:

            That’s why anybody who can comes here for health care.

            Blatant lie.

            Size of home, etc. was merely to illustrate how poor most of the people in these “advanced nations” really are.

            Most are happier in their countries than Americans are in America.

            How poor are the Norwegians compared to Americans? How poor are the Swiss? The Irish?

  4. formwiz says:

    It’s an observation and an example. Right-wingers are pussies, by the way.

    We don’t need vote fraud to win and we seem to be kicking your ass consistently.

    Actually it’s the reactionary rightists interested in power. The libs want universal healthcare because it will be cheaper, more efficient and make life easier for the working classes.

    ICYMI, power is diffused in a free market. Power is concentrated in the government with socialized medicine.

    And are they only interested in the working classes? Seems like the working classes are doing quite nicely. Of course, once the power of life and death is completely in the hands of the Left, then everyone will have one choice – knuckle under or die.

    Making pregnancy and births not covered by insurance would sure cut down on births wouldn’t it. Maybe we could go back to home births. Sure, child mortality would go up, as would abortions but that’s ok as long as it saves a conservative $10 a year.

    Straw man. No mention of births was made, but people had babies at home long before insurance and not 1 or 2, but 8 or 10, so, as always, your logic, like your head, has several holes in it.

    And those home births were attended by doctors, ICYMI. And this was in the days before abortion was sanctioned by SCUS. You really know nothing about history, do you?

    You will never listen. You have access to all the facts on global warming and you still believe it’s a hoax by scientists, politicians, clergy, corporations and commies, but you believe what a TV reality host tells you even with his history of fraud and lying.

    So far, said TV host has kept his promises, while the exposes of Commie warming, with its history of fraud and lying, just like yours, are abundant and there for all to see.

    Yet you trust Don Raper and his Mad Men in Congress to build you a “cheaper” and “better” healthcare system. Maybe they could describe their plan

    Called the free market and it’s the envy of the world. Here, you don’t wait years for a hospital bed or surgery.

    And the only rapists are Demos. Obiden-Bama, Willie, Teddy Kennedy, Menendez.

    The list goes one forever.

    And the only child rapist is your boy, Willie. That’s why Epstein is dead.

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