CUTTING MEDICAID INTO OBLIVION.

AuthorErvin, Mike
PositionSMART ASS CRIPPLE

Recently, I received one of those urgent emails beseeching me to take quick political action. You know how it goes. The email explains an issue, then it tells you to click to add your name to a petition or sign a template letter and enter your zip code so it can be sent to your Senators and member of Congress.

I'm usually happy to oblige, since all that's required to fulfill my civic duty is to give a quick click. Often, I don't even read past the headline. More money for the arts? Save the bees? Sure, why not? I can click for that.

The alerts with template letters usually ask you to write your own original version. But I never do, because it doesn't withstand my rigorous cost-benefit analysis. I figure I'm going to get the same canned response from my Senators and member of Congress, whether I spend hours researching and composing a letter or half of a second clicking.

Sometimes, just reading the alert headline is enough to convince me not to click. I immediately decline if the headline begins with, say, "Tell Mitch McConnell." I know that's a total waste of time because Mitch McConnell will never do anything that has the taint of common sense and decency. Even though it only takes a half of a second to click, that's a half of a second of my life I can't get back.

This latest action alarm was sent out by The Arc, a national organization with more than 600 local chapters that advocates for and serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It concerned a dubious effort being undertaken by the state of Oklahoma. Normally, just seeing the word "Oklahoma" would be enough to move me to issue a firm and resolute oppositional click (and maybe even to write an original letter). But I read on.

The alert was about Oklahoma's dangerous new plan for administering Medicaid dollars and services, for which it is seeking federal approval. The plan is ironically called the Healthy Adult Opportunity Demonstration Waiver.

The email said the waiver "creates a precedent with nationwide implications" by putting a "per capita cap" on some of that states Medicaid spending. The idea is also known by other names, such as block grants. But whatever you call it, the idea is the same.

The alert also said, "In addition to the per capita cap, the Oklahoma proposal includes several provisions that would make it harder for people to get coverage and easier for people to get kicked off. [It] severely limits access to nonemergency medical transportation...

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