Regrets? Ha! Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, South Dakota just saved $9.1 million.
Because of the failure of the free market, South Dakota created a high risk pool in 2003 to provide health insurance for people the death panels private insurers wouldn't insure. By eliminating the right of insurers to refuse coverage to folks with pre-existing conditions, the Affordable Care Act rendered high risk pools superfluous. South Dakota stopped taking applicants to the high risk pool on January 1, 2014; we pull the plug on our program at the end of this fiscal year.
Governor Daugaard is thus able to include this line in his proposed budget:
Decreases of $450,965 in federal fund expenditure authority and $9,060,356 in other fund expenditure authority are due to the end of the Risk Pool [South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management, "Summary of Recommended Budget Adjustments," 2014.12.02].
From that $9,060,356 in state savings, Governor is asking for $2.42 million in one-time money to salt the general fund.
Gordon Howie, keep your pen ready: in March, when the Legislature passes this budget, every legislator who supports this one-time money will be casting one more vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act, which is saving South Dakota millions of dollars. Thank you, Mr. President!
Of course, you do not hear about this savings for our state from the clown car that represents us in Washington or in Pierre. You do not hear about it from really anyplace other than right here. The money that South Dakota taxpayers saved from the ACA should be broadcast from the lips of every Democrat in the state as a "I told you so", but instead, I suppose we will just act coy about it and move on. Squirrel.
So Federal funds are covering high risk pools instead of SD State funds. This is being paid for by Federal income tax dollars and higher insurance fees for those not in the high risk pool. This is not saving money. It is just paid for by different people.
When we get "free" money, where do you think that is coming from?
What is the annual cost to the state to expand Medicaid? Existing high risk pool money and future money that would have gone into the high risk pool should be earmarked for that purpose.
Paul, a good bit of that "free money" comes from liberal states that pay in more to the fed than they get back, unlike red states like SD that get back much more than they pay in. In a way I hope republicans in the federal legislature get their way and cut the hell out of the fed budget and in the process cut off mouching states like SD. I would love to see the ruling party here squirm if they had to pay their own way for a change. Would it be hard on our state, yes but it would be the fastest way to turn things around here, might be the only way to shock voters out of their republican funk. As long as conservatives continue to run the state with their failed policy, we continue to die a slow painful death.
I think that you should take up that "free money" issue with daugaard and the rest of the phonies. Long before the election of President Obama, we had risk pools that were state funded with federal taxpayer help. This is nothing new. What is new Paul, is that we do not need them now and there is a surplus that will go to the state. As they now have about 10 million buckeroos, that would more than offset what they were bitching and moaning about to expand Medicaid. Even with the 3 million they want to use for partying. Life is funny ain't it?
The whole purpose of insurance is to cover high risks. The health insurance industry and healthy citizens have for a long time not cared at all about those with high risks. I heard someone who had diabetes since less than five years old ask a congressperson what she could do about five hundred to a thousand dollar per month health bills. She was told she could go to another state and get in their pools. Not being ones brothers or sisters keeper.
Health bills do not fit capitalism like getting a bigger car or house is. If you want a bigger house you work harder or smarter or save more. If you get a bigger heart attack you will not be working harder any time soon. So health insurance needs everyone paying in for everyones bills. Just like the farmers who harvest the crops for someone who has fallen ill during the year. We all pitch in. This is necessary for a lot of people with health problems. The good Samaritan realized this and Jesus then asked the elitists 'who was the neighbor'? We are all Americans and should all be neighbors. So if we act on that then the healthy people will pay more than they did under the old insurance companies plan of greed to collect premiums from the healthy and not cover any more actual risks than they absolutely had to. Now under ACA we will be neighbors to all.
So now what is the counties going to do with all that money they paid for health bills for the poor. That will be the big savings that we will have to find the proper way to spend.