Arizona Wants To Help The Poors By Taking Away Their Medicaid

Arizona's new Republican governor, Doug Ducey, sure is in a hurry to undo all the socialism the state's previous radical liberal Marxist Obama-lovin' governor, Jan "Judas" Brewer, did when she was still in charge of the place.

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The state's Republicans have been trying to implement tighter restrictions on Medicaid eligibility so that no one can actually qualify for it, because that's how freedom works, and if you expand Medicaid to let so-called poor people get to see doctors, America goes straight to hell, as we all know from how we've been burning SO HOT since the Affordable Care Act was passed nearly five years ago. Brewer, being a commie who murdered Republican Jesus, vetoed pretty much the same bill last year, but lucky for Arizona, Gov. Ducey is arealRepublican, so he approved the measure on Friday to "ensure that we have a responsible Medicaid program that protect taxpayers and provide care to those who need it the most." That sounds great, and we would never be suspicious of a Republican whose priority is protecting taxpayers.

Except of course we would, obviously. And, big surprise, the legislation will actually make it harder for people to access health insurance, while not even saving the state very much money. Yes, we know you're shocked.

The bill would require Medicaid recipients to be employed, because we all know only people with jobs need healthcare. Oh, and they'd be kicked out of the system after five years, because five years should be long enough for any disabled people on Medicaid to become un-disabled, and as for those who've failed to bootstrap themselves out of poverty, meh. Sucks to be you. The state has more pressing concerns, like giving those lazy bastards an incentive to work that they would not otherwise have. As the governor's statement proclaimed, "the best social program is a job, which is why [he] is committed to growing our economy and expanding opportunity for all." We are sure all the low-income Arizonans find that kind of "social program" quite inspiring, which is exactly what the bill to take their healthcare away from them was intended to do.

State Sen. Nancy Barto, who introduced the bill, explained:

"What we're trying to do as states ... is to take control in some way and stop incentivizing for those people that use it in that respect,'' she said.

"We want certain controls in order to help the federal government keep its obligation that they've made, contract with the poor, receiving health care,'' Barto said. "But we want to make sure that we're really serving those that are needy.''

She's a real piece of work, that Barto. In 2012, she was pushing a bill to protect doctors from being sued just for failing to mention to pregnant patients that their unborn fetuses might have disabilities that might make the patients maybe want to have abortions, because screw those women, the condition and details of their own pregnancy is none of their business. She's very concerned about protecting certain Arizonans, ya know.

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Anyway, the good news -- and yes, we're using that term loosely -- is that Arizona Republicans are just wasting everyone's time, because the nifty "social program" to deny healthcare to poors requires approval from the federal government, which is pretty damn likely to say, "Yeah, nope, that does not comply with the laws, can you even read?" Just like it has told all the other states that have tried to get around the law because, as the former governor of Texas -- another state that tried to get around the federal government's Medicaid requirements -- explained, poor people prefer not to have health insurance. Yee haw!

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Besides, if Arizonans really want to have healthcare they can't afford, they can just beg the dumb liberals on the internet to give them some money, like this fine upstanding citizen, Sheriff Richard Mack. 

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He hates Obamacare and doesn't want to be dependent on no stinkin' federal moneys, and that seems to have worked out just fine for him so far.

[ AZ Daily Sun via Think Progress ]