Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cary Kennedy just rolled out a plan to allow anyone to buy into Medicaid. Apparently, she doesn’t realize that the people on Medicaid don’t actually want to be on Medicaid. This scheme is meant to help address the lack of insurance options in some Colorado counties. You know what else might help with that? Getting government out of the business of insurance. But we digress. Here is what the Denver Post said about opposition to her plan:
“But the former state treasurer’s plan represents a significant extension of Medicaid and will open her to criticism from Republicans who want to curtail the program expanded under the Affordable Care Act and mired in ever-increasing costs to state and federal taxpayers.”
Yes, this is true. Republicans absolutely want to curtail Medicaid – it’s not just a program for our neediest populations or a safety net anymore. Colorado has one of the hottest economies in the nation; yet, a quarter of our residents are on Medicaid. How does that line up?
The other problem is that people who live on the Western Slope, an area hit hard by insurance premium hikes and lack of options, don’t want the craptastic coverage Medicaid provides – many doctors don’t even take Medicaid anymore. They want their old plans back – the plans we were promised we could keep by Sen. Michael Bennet and President Barack Obama.
When will we get our old plan back? Half of a million Colorado residents want to know. In the meantime, Kennedy can keep her terrible ideas.