Obama's Health Plan Will Crack Whip on States

States mishandle Medicaid, get bullied by private firms: doctor

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 29, 2009 12:25 PM CDT

(Newser) – Doctors nationwide are “outraged” by President Obama’s health care plan, but “I call it progress,” writes one Missouri physician for Salon. The reform would take oversight out of the hands of states, which seemingly specialize in “lax regulation of private insurers” and poor handling of Medicaid. Ford Vox sees physical rehab patients from Missouri and Illinois, but “if you're struck by a calamity sufficient enough to enter our care, I hope you don't live in Missouri," he writes.

Just as California's budget last week tossed 40,000 disabled people from its rolls, Missouri’s Medicaid budget was cut by its governor in 2005. So don’t expect outpatient physical therapy or wheelchair batteries—but Medicaid’s happy to stick you in a nursing home instead. As for private insurers, “American business has no problem pushing around the states.” With Obama’s reforms, health care will catch “the national limelight,” and “most state-based horror stories will cease,” Vox concludes.

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President Barack Obama waves prior to boarding Marine One, Wednesday, July 29, 2009, as he left the White House in Washington for a trip to Raleigh, NC, to speak on health care. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

President Barack Obama gestures during a town hall on health care reform, Wednesday, July 29, 2009, at Broughton High School in Raleigh, NC. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

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With comprehensive national standards, states will not be able to dodge their responsibilities. Their disparate health insurance regulations and Medicaid administrations will no longer trample basic human rights. - Dr. Ford Vox

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Obama's Health Plan Will Crack Whip on States