Letter to the Editor: Look at the numbers
BY Roger Hilst, Tulsa
Friday, December 14, 2012
12/14/12 at 2:17 AM
Thank goodness we have a governor who can read a financial statement. Anyone who looks at the federal government's financial statement and budget projections, with its ongoing trillion dollar annual operating deficits, must surmise that anyone banking on future promises from the federal government is delusional at best and financially ignorant at worst.
It is also pertinent to understand that declining the federal Medicaid monies affect only 166,000-200,000 Oklahomans. Of the current 600,000 uninsured Oklahomans, the long-term statistics remain the same. Thirty-three percent of them are represented by those who opt to not acquire insurance, can afford and qualify for it, but opt to roll the dice. A third are those who have pre-existing conditions that previously excluded them from insurance options but that situation has been resolved. And, the final third are those in question under the Medicaid expansion, many of whom currently qualify for Medicaid but do not take the time to enroll in the program. As some point they enter the health-care system and usually a provider enrolls them in the program so they can receive payment for services rendered.
Obamacare has made outlandish promises that are beyond the available resources of this country. There is no amount of money-printing or borrowing or taxing scenario that can sustain the current level of federal government expenditures. Our governor just eliminated one delusional element from Oklahoma's future.
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