South Carolina and Florida will be opting out of the expanded medicaid coverage under the ACA. The result of this will be 1.2 million people without coverage.
So let’s be absolutely clear about this. Two people have decided to withhold medical coverage from 1.2 million people in order to score political points. That’s astounding. But maybe I’m not being fair. FL Gov Rick Scott had this to say:
“Florida will opt out of spending approximately $1.9 billion more taxpayer dollars required to implement a massive entitlement expansion of the Medicaid program,”
OK, so this isn’t about scoring points, its about fiscal responsibility. So again, let’s be absolutely clear. Two people have decided to withhold medical coverage from 1.2 million people in order to keep the bond markets happy. That’s equally astounding.
But, I’m glad they’re doing this. It’s refreshingly… honest. They are saying to their states’ poor: “your needs are less important to us than reducing the debt”. No Paul Ryan-esque bullshit about how cutting entitlements actually increases entitlements. Just a straight up admission that we really don’t care about you, and if you or your loved ones die from a preventable condition well tough shit, you should have thought about that before you were poor.
520 Chestnut 
So, what happened to Federalism then? The Federal government is not one that can tell States what to do. In a nation with a federal government, we should not demonize others that do not wish to follow the pack.
What does anything I wrote have to do with federalism? I never said the federal government can or should force these states into the system. Regarding what I said about the governors, I stated, correctly, that they put the interests of short term political scores or of non-existent bond vigilantes over those of the residents of their states. I accurately described their attitudes as not caring about the plight of those they would deny coverage. Perhaps my “tough shit” line was a bit hyperbolic, but not by much. I called them out, forcefully and in no uncertain terms, because I find it to be morally reprehensible that they would deny healthcare to 1.2 million people for either short term political gain or in the interest of austerity. I stated that I find it astounding that these folks could be so craven. These are real people who are being denied care they need so two self serving jackasses can play games and build up their conservative street cred. I don’t demonize them for not following the pack. I demonize them for actions that I view to be reprehensible. My critique has nothing to do with federal government, the constitution, federalism, or anything of the sort. It’s a moral judgement, and until and unless the situation changes, its one I stand by.
You describe the situation as one where 1.2 million people have been given something and some governors are withholding it. Can it really be morally reprehensible for Florida to keep its Medicaid program as it is? Were all these States’ governors acting immorally from the beginning of their terms until now because they had millions of people who don’t qualify for Medicaid? Federalism embraces the idea that States are entitled to behave differently. It seems like the only reason you are upset about the actions of these governors is because they decided not to opt into a Federal program. Using that to claim that the governors do not care about the citizens of their States is quite a leap. Identifying the governors as immoral because they made a decision they were fully entitled to make (a decision which keeps things the way they are) is a very strange way to assess morality.
[…] make that 15 governors (only 14 Republicans, to be fair) that would deny healthcare to millions of people for short term political gain. Its […]