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July 01, 2014 11:39 AM UTC

Would Obamacare-hating Beauprez reject federal Medicaid funds and strip Coloradans of health insurance?

  • 23 Comments
  • by: Jason Salzman

(Maybe it would prevent civil war? – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Bob Beauprez.
Bob Beauprez.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez doubled down on his total and complete opposition to Obamacare last week, saying the law's core plan to expand healthcare coverage under Medicaid is a path to "ruin."

But on KOA's Mike Rosen Show June 26, Beauprez didn't answer a caller's question about whether he'd turn down federal Medicaid funding, a move that could deprive over 150,000 Coloradans of health-care coverage.

During the initial years of Obamacare, the federal government is picking up most or all of the costs of expanding Medicaid to cover the uninsured, and state economists say Colorado will likely not bear additional costs as federal funds recede.

Beauprez's radio outrage at Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, makes me think he'd reject the federal funds if he were elected, as other Republican governors have done. Earlier this year, you recall, on KVOR's Jeff Crank Show, he promised to "repeal" and "replace" Obmacare, adding, "What we can do, and what I look forward to doing, is everything within a governor’s power and the state’s power to push back, especially on this Medicaid bomb that is coming our way."

"The Medicaid expansion as part of the Obamacare mandate is going to bury the states." Beauprez told a caller on Rosen's show last week, who said he had health insurance thanks to Medicaid expansion. "It may personally benefit you, but that’s part of the challenge in front of this country, is that the cost of the Medicaid expansion is absolutely unsustainable. I wish we had 45 minutes to explain it, but trust me, this is a path to nowhere – to ruin. I guess it is a path to somewhere – to financial ruin."

Rosen didn't ask Beauprez to answer the caller's blunt question ("Would you turn down the Medicaid dollars?"), but Rosen couldn't resist doing some Medicaid bashing of his own.

"I’d throw this in, too," Rosen said on air, following up on Beauprez's statement above. "If you’re also concerned about the general interest, and not just with benefits, keep in mind, that this Medicaid expansion is bait. That is, states that sign up for this will get some money at the front end, but then that money disappears and the states have to come up with those massive expenditures to cover those promises."

"That’s the fiscal ruin I was talking about, Mike," Beauprez told Rosen. "It’s simply unsustainable and they know it! It was the prototypical bait and switch."

Unfortunately, we don't know what Beauprez would do about it. Would he reject the federal funding? Would he chip away at it? What's his plan?

And, FYI, here's the original question put to Beauprez on Rosen's show.

Caller Chris: How’s it going, Bob and Mike. I would consider myself to be, I guess, a moderate Democrat. Right now, you know, I’m a 24 years old, and under Obamacare Medicaid expansion, the Medicaid program has been able to extend to me, a young male. As governor, are you going to follow in the footsteps of, you know, like Rick Snod and Rick Snyder and all these guys that are turning down, you know, these Medicaid expansions? Because I’ve got to tell you, I mean, Medicaid is not for people that are, you know, sitting on their bums all day. You know? I work full time. Um, my wages, we just don’t — they don’t provide healthcare for me. And it has become a real help for me and a lot of Colorado residents. Would you turn down the Medicaid dollars?

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23 thoughts on “Would Obamacare-hating Beauprez reject federal Medicaid funds and strip Coloradans of health insurance?”

  2. Seems as though we can expect nothing better from Beauprez than mindlessly parroting patently false and/or disproven GOTP talking points.  But not knowing WTF he's talking about is normal for BothWaysBob.

    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the Medicaid expansion will add very little to what states would have spent on Medicaid without health reform, while providing health coverage to 17 million more low-income adults and children.  In addition, the Medicaid expansion will reduce state and local government costs for uncompensated care and other services they provide to the uninsured, which will offset at least some — and in a number of states, possibly all or more than all — of the modest increase in state Medicaid costs.  Expanding Medicaid is thus a very favorable financial deal for states.

    • CBO estimates show that the federal government will bear nearly 93 percent of the costs of the Medicaid expansion over its first nine years (2014-2022).  The federal government will pick up 100 percent of the cost of covering people made newly eligible for Medicaid for the first three years (2014-2016) and no less than 90 percent on a permanent basis.
    • The additional cost to the states represents a 2.8 percent increase in what they would have spent on Medicaid from 2014 to 2022 in the absence of health reform, the CBO estimates indicate.
    • This 2.8 percent figure significantly overstates the net impact on state budgets because it does not reflect the savings that state and local governments will realize in other health care spending for the uninsured.  The Urban Institute has estimated that overall state savings in these areas will total between $26 and $52 billion from 2014 through 2019.  The Lewin Group estimates state and local government savings of $101 billion in uncompensated care.

    http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3801

    The article continues on to use the actual data from Massachusetts to back up the CBO projections.

    Beauprez is such an idiot

      1. Unless they sit on their hands and not vote at all.  Hick's campaign, even if relentlessly positive, needs to find a way to really motivate his potential voters. 

        The news media doesn't seem to care what a disaster Beauprez would be.  In fact, they'd probably sell more papers with screaming headlines about BWB's latest screwup as Guv, so yeah, he'd be "good for business".

        1. Agree with Ralphie. Having such a complete moron for Guv is just too scary to contemplate. Also Romanoff and his real chance of defeating Coffman will help turn out in an important county. I think as the supporting groups amp up ads featuring the idiocy of BWB more Dems will be motivated to fight against his election even if they can't get too excited about fighting for Hick.

        2. Hick could get a lot of mileage out of backing off from his decision to sue communities that have instituted anti-fracking moratoriums or bans.

          Hell, he could just invite these groups to the table for a sit-down, instead of only negotiating with the oil and gasseous crowd, and some of us would be pleased that he looks like he's actually listening to those concerns.

          Personally, I'd like to see him take a trip to Garfield County, or to Silt, and to talk with people there who are either already sick, or are worried about birth defects and getting sick. There's a great photo opportunity.

          1. Hey, he was willing to go make nice to the wacko sheriffs. A tiny bit of consideration for a few Dem base types and some of the folks concerned about their families' well being would be nice. And those are people who might actually vote for him. As opposed to the wacko sheriffs he wasted time and credibility on and who are never in a million years going to vote for the guy who signed the sensible gun control legislation supported by most Colorado voters. No matter how many times he apologizes for doing the sensible thing or how many cute ads he runs showcasing his gosh darn adorableness.

          2. I'd like to see him take a trip to Garfield County, or to Silt, and to talk with people there who are either already sick,

            I have been recommending this for a long time. When Bill Ritter first came to Garfield county, he was still pretty much in the industry camp, believing the myth handed to him by the Oily Boys. But when he met Chris Mobaldi, the Hoffmeister family, Karen Trulove, the Amos family, and so many, many others whose lives had been turned upside down, and whose health was being compromised on a daily basis by being forced to live in an industrial development…he changed.

            Could it happen to Hick? Anybodys' guess…but he steadfastly avoids putting himself in a position to face that reality…

      3. Glad I'm in affiliated then. No nose holding — I'm writing in Gessler. (I want to prove Moddy right, once in his lifetime . . . )

        Seriously, I'll never vote an "R" in this race, but 'Hick's lost me . . . 

          1. Hope you'll change your mind and help stop Beauprez (which can only be done with a vote for Hick) if it gets close but I have a feeling the polls will be telling a very different story by October.

    2. Once again. It's not the same Rasmussen it was then. Now it skews the other way. Did you know Obama is only a few point in the negative most days and sometimes has a small positive approval rating? That's what  Rasmussen has been saying for months. See what I mean? Check out Real Clear for major polls and poll averages. See where Razzie is now.

      1. The problem with inaccurate polls, no matter which way they lean, is that they're inaccurate polls.

        I like to trust my instruments.  Give me instruments that actually work.

  5. Jason,

    This is excellent information that voters in general and democratic strategists in particular should have.  Beaprez should be asked repeatedly if he could cancel medicaid expansion under ACA, if he were to be elected.  He needs to be pinned down until he answers.

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