Sunday, September 10, 2006
Mike Huckabee: 'Paradoxical' Republican
Governor Mike Huckabee described himself recently as a "paradoxical Republican" in the eyes of many in the media and even his own party. He said this because people sometimes have trouble reconciling some of his positions on crucially important issues. Today's news provides a perfect example of this supposed "paradox."Governor Huckabee is a fiscally conservative Republican who wants to keep taxes low -- BUT NOT at the expense of the most vulnerable members of our society!
Recently, the Bush administration floated a proposal to halve the "provider tax" that states can charge in nursing homes. Sounds good, right?
Well, that money is returned to nursing homes by the states — ALONG WITH MATCHING FEDERAL DOLLARS — in the form of higher reimbursements that allow nursing facilities to provide additional staff and resources for patients.
By cutting in half the allowable tax--and in return cutting in half the federal match, the administration estimates it will save $3.1 billion over five years.
That's $6.2 billion cut from nursing homes' reimbusements from the states. What do you suppose will happen? Nursing homes will have to charge more, cut staff, or cut services and conveniences -- or some combination of these tactics.
“There seems to be complete tone deafness in Washington to policies that are having a dramatic effect on the lives of the most vulnerable people we’ve got. It just never ceases to amaze me.”
The most vulnerable members of our society --the elderly and the chronically ill-- will pay more, for less, and undoubtedly some will suffer mightily in the process.
In Arkansas, the provider tax helped many nursing homes survive as well as beef up staffing levels and training. “What this provided was the revenues to improve the quality of care those patients were getting,” Huckabee said.
He and other governors wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt in June asking the administration to reconsider the proposed change.
“It’s just another way in which there seems to be complete tone deafness in Washington to policies that are having a dramatic effect on the lives of the most vulnerable people we’ve got. It just never ceases to amaze me,” Huckabee said.
Some call a man who likes tax cuts, but not in programs that provide critical services to our most vulnerable citizens, a "paradoxical Republican."
We call him a Christian.
BSR
