Mittwoch, 1. Dezember 2010
Arizona Republican death panel has its first victim.
trickymaster, 14:40h
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"In Arizona, 98 low-income patients approved for organ transplants have been told they are no longer getting them because of state budget cuts.
The patients receive medical coverage through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the state's version of Medicaid. While it may be common for private insurance companies or government agencies to change eligibility requirements for medical procedures ahead of time, medical ethicists say authorizing a procedure and then reversing that decision is unheard of."
Source: http://www.npr.org/2010/11/11/131215308/arizona-budget-cuts-put-organ-transplants-at-risk
Now here comes the most ridiculous, frustrating, enraging part about this story: Arizona says the cuts would save about $4.5 million this year. This is nothing compared to the tax cuts and many other services that the right-wing government provides. Increasing taxes doesn't seem to be an option despite the fact that most Americans are ready to pay more taxes to keep and to expand social services.
UPDATE:
The cuts are now on hold because the Arizona clown government realized that it would also lose matching funds. That shows how long the GOP was thinking about this before they implemented the cuts: Not a minute. But they continue to deny coverage for new Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and Medicaid applicants. Here's the thing about CHIP.
"CEO of Phoenix Children's Hospital, said it is unfair to change the rules in the middle of the game. He said that Phoenix Children's has already absorbed $45 million in state cuts over the past three years. Further cuts jeopardize specialized services such as pediatric neurology and rheumatology."
Source: http://www.examiner.com/health-care-in-national/arizona-governor-s-budget-requests-medicaid-cuts-and-elimination-of-children-s-health-insurance
47,000 Arizona children from low-income families will lose health insurance because the state wants to save $23 million. That's $489/year per child. A ridiculous sum.
If you spread that money on the 4 million working Arizonans (out of 6 million Arizonans), each taxpayer pays $5.45 per year to keep a child healthy and alive.
That divided by 365 days, each Arizona taxpayer spends 1.5 cents per day on KidsCare. Too much says the Republican Party.
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