Sunday, December 16, 2012
Arkansas Politics Time to end the Republican cliche spewing
Posted by Max Brantley on Sun, Dec 16, 2012 at 11:29 AM
And still ....
And still ....
Faith-based Republicans, massively resisting service to humanity to the very end, insist that there must be another way around covering poor sick people than taking the federal money.
Rep. David Meeks, the Conway propane truck driver who's emerged as an expert on government funding, surfaces again:
Rep. David Meeks, a Conway Republican, said he isn’t convinced that the cuts are necessary.Waste can be cut and new sources of money can be found to fix the problem, he predicted.
“There is money out there,” he said.
Simple response:
Put up or shut up.
Identify the waste and the sources of money that will cover the $143 million gap. Blind faith no longer will get it. Gov. Mike Beebe and his administration have made a credible case that, absent the additional federal money, cuts are required and this is the first place to go. Unsupported declarations to the contrary won't get it anymore.
And again on the so-called pragmatic Republican leadership: John Brummett today indicates (pay wall) that Sen. Michael Lamoureux still seems to think Beebe can talk the Obama administration into releasing Arkansas from the mandates of federal law and be allowed to craft a Medicaid plan acceptable to the Republican majority If he really believes that Obama will view Arkansas as deserving of special consideration, he makes Meeks look like a genius.
Speaking of...
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June 13, 2013The Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) joint subcommittee met earlier today, with a good chunk of attention devoted to the outreach workers that will be hired as part of the Affordable Care Act, known as “guides.” One thing is clear: Republican lawmakers opposed to the ACA are going to raise a fuss about the guides every chance they get. /more/
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Medicaid payment reform may be reducing costs but legislature delays further implementation
May 24, 2013Good news on the Medicaid cost front: in a joint Public Health committee meeting today, Department of Human Services officials testified that for the third straight quarter, cost growth of the program has slowed. /more/
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Republicans against healthcare expansion now worried about outcome if expansion doesn't happen
May 24, 2013At the joint committee hearing on the "private option" plan for healthcare expansion, Rep. David Meeks asked about Plan B. "Are we anticipating what we would do if something happens and we don’t get the private option?" /more/
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Partisan justice
May 16, 2013I had a nice visit with Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Rhonda Wood last week. /more/
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State gets $5.1 million for Medicaid in settlement over adulterated drugs
May 14, 2013Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has announced that Arkansas will get $5.1 million, including federal matching funds, for its Medicaid program as part of the $500 million settlement of a lawsuit against Ranbaxy, a drug manufacturer in India that provided subpar generic drugs. /more/
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The terrible 10 of the 89th Arkansas General Assembly
May 9, 2013They're the worst of the worst. /more/
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May 9, 2013Some legislators and legislation shone. /more/
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Morning roundup: Partisan judge, Children's leader
May 3, 2013Light start to the day: * PARTISAN JUDGES: I noted yesterday the highly partisan flavor of Appeals Court Judge Rhonda Wood's Twitter feeds, as well as those of colleague Circuit Judge Mike Maggio of Conway. /more/
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How the private option flipped the Medicaid expansion debate
May 2, 2013It took a group of clever and obstinate young Republican legislators who refused to go along with Medicaid expansion but weren't ready to close the door on other ideas. They helped force a crafty veteran Democratic governor who was eager to go forward with expansion to consider alternative approaches. Throw in tireless and creative state health officials who happened to have a cozy relationship with their federal It took a group of clever and obstinate young Republican legislators who refused to go along with Medicaid expansion but weren’t ready to close the door on other ideas. They helped force a crafty veteran Democratic governor who was eager to go forward with expansion to consider alternative approaches. Throw in tireless and creative state health officials who happened to have a cozy relationship with their federal counterparts. Probably some luck. And, among everyone involved, it took a slightly crazy, seemingly unjustified optimism that somehow a solution was possible. /more/
- More »
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