Meet Rand Paul:
To start, Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse prevails due to the continued moritoria on the rules.
Regulation of Medicaid falls upon the States for which the Medicaid Fraud Control Units were created. These Units do absolutely nothing in ending Medicaid fraud in child welfare.
'Intergenerational welfare' is a code word for child poverty. For the most part, private insurance companies do not cover for basic needs of physical conditions such as Autism, congenital birth defects or mental illness. This leaves families who have exhausted their financial resources and at the 200% threshold and below of the federal poverty level no other recourse but to access Medicaid programs.
Failure to provide for the necessary needs of the child, even medical needs, is considered abuse and neglect. These policies perpetuate 'intergenerational welfare'.
The majority of child welfare programming has been privatized by the States. Regulation of a state program is a state issue. Since there is a dearth of regulation of the child welfare/pediatric Medicaid programs (i.e.Targeted Case Management, SCHIPS) and scant opportunities for contractual debarment of these privatized agencies, fraud flourishes. Foster care is the most notorious for kiddy kickbacks, phantom programs, double-billing, fictitious billing, fraudulent reports ... oh, just peruse the National Archive On Child Welfare Fraud.
In the light of 'intergenerational welfare', youth who age out of foster care face a dismal future, forced reliance upon institutional welfare. These former foster youth will have children and the cycle will continue with their children being placed in foster care on the basis of being poor.
This nation has a strong tradition of military history in families. TRICARE is the 'Medicaid' for military, serving Uniformed Service members, retirees and their families worldwide. Is Rand Paul implicating that TRICARE is 'intergenerational welfare', also? Does he wish to privatize TRICARE and make service members establish medical savings accounts?????
Rand Paul, along with his political colleagues, must cease his tactics of defaming the characters of the poor. Just as the original participants of the Boston Tea Party disguised their tactics by blaming Native Americans, the current members of the National Tea Party need to immediately stop assigning blame of the Medicaid program to, no matter how subtle, historically and economically disparaged members of society.
Medicaid funds segments of the nation's public educational system. Is Rand Paul advocating the demise of civic learning? From his rhetoric as of late, it surely sounds as much.
The only major national issue Rand Paul has raised is the pervasive problems with 'intergenerational ignorance' of policymakers, such as himself and his colleagues.
Rand Paul says Medicaid has created 'intergenerational welfare'
The result is 'intergenerational welfare,' he contends
FRANKFORT — Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul said Medicaid's lenient eligibility standards have led to "intergenerational welfare" in a discussion Monday with three members of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
Paul later campaigned in Lexington with his GOP opponent in the spring, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, and asked why his Democratic rival, Jack Conway, does not enjoy strong backing from his primary election conquest, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo.
Conway's campaign responded by saying Mongiardo will appear with Conway Saturday night at a Democratic dinner in Louisville.
During Monday's rally at Fayette County Republican Party headquarters in Lexington, U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul, right, appeared with Secretary of State Trey Grayson, left, whom he defeated in the May GOP primary, and Urban County Council member Ed Lane.
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With less than a month to go in the U.S. Senate race before the Nov. 2 general election, Paul was interviewed on five issues by three chamber leaders.
On major changes in government, Paul said the country needs a balanced budget amendment and must better control spending on federal entitlement programs.
He focused on the high costs of Medicaid, a federal-state health-insurance program that covers about 800,000 poor and disabled Kentuckians and costs nearly $6 billion.
"When we have a government program to help those who are in need or who have unfortunate problems, let's help those truly in need," Paul said.
He contended that lenient eligibility standards have led to "intergenerational welfare."
Conway's campaign press secretary, John Collins, said Paul's comments were "troubling and show how far out of touch he is with life in Kentucky."
Sheila Schuster, who works with organizations that advocate for disabled Kentuckians, said the state does not have the most liberal eligibility standards for Medicaid and disputed that it has become a welfare system.
"It's a system of taking care of people with serious needs," she said, noting that she is not endorsing any candidate in the Senate race.
Schuster acknowledged there might be some people receiving Medicaid who shouldn't, but she does not think it's a large number.
"Any system will have some degree of fraud, but I recall how the administration of former Gov. Ernie Fletcher said it would get rid of waste, fraud and abuse and didn't turn up many who shouldn't be on the Medicaid rolls," she said.
During a segment dealing with education, Paul said Kentucky lost out on federal funding from the Race to the Top program this summer in part because its application did not include charter schools, which operate outside many of the rules of regular schools.
Kentucky had hoped to receive $175 million from the program designed by President Barack Obama's administration to reward innovative efforts to improve schools.
Paul said he favors charter schools and school choice, including vouchers to allow families to select the public or private schools of their choice and have all or part of the tuition paid.
He also said busing of students to schools two to three hours from home has not worked.
The candidate, a Bowling Green eye surgeon who is making his first bid for public office, stopped short of calling for elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, which he has done previously.
Concerning federal government spending, Paul said every agency should be scrutinized. He specifically criticized the U.S. Department of Commerce's use of jets to fly corporate officials "around the world looking for jobs," and said there is waste in military spending.
Paul has previously said the Department of Commerce should be eliminated.
On energy and the environment, Paul criticized "an out-of-control bureaucracy" of regulations, saying the nation's air is 30 percent cleaner than it was 30 years ago.
He emphasized the role of coal and said nuclear energy should be part of the country's energy strategy.
On health, Paul said the entire federal health care reform act backed by Obama should be repealed but acknowledged that would be difficult with the president's veto power.
He said the legislation might have to be changed piecemeal.
The law will increase insurance premiums and be burdensome to businesses, Paul said.
He said the legislation should have allowed more competition among insurance companies "to drive prices down" and should have encouraged more health savings accounts.
He also said he favors tax credits for employer-sponsored wellness programs.
The interview with Paul will be posted on the chamber's Web site later this week. Chamber president Dave Adkisson said Conway has been invited to participate in a similar discussion but has not accepted yet.
Conway spokeswoman Allison Haley said Conway intends to participate in the chamber's roundtable.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Paul, but the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce will not be endorsing a candidate, Adkisson said.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/05/1464618/rand-paul-says-medicaid-has-created.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=1142387#Comments_Container#ixzz11UVVbmG4
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