Make no mistake. Behind the Republican call for delay in implementation of an expansion of Medicaid in Arkansas is the hope for a Republican legislative majority that will bring an abrupt change in health services for the sick people and working poor.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — to be the featured speaker Friday night at the Arkansas Republican fund-raising dinner in Hot Springs — shows you what to expect. He refuses expanded Medicaid for his people, as Arkansas Republicans hope to do. And if you think current services are safe from the budget slashers, I turn your attention to a typical story in a Louisiana newspaper:
Jindal is cutting a half-billion from Louisiana health expenditures, more than $300 million of it from the LSU Health System. (Think UAMS.) This particular story happens to touch on the calamity facing a regional medical center in my hometown. In Arkansas, regional health centers and outreach programs backed by UAMS operate all over Arkansas. Cuts have to be made somewhere to finance tax cuts for millionaires. How many jobs did minimum wage workers ever create?