Obamacare (Unintentionally?) Allows Medicaid for Middle Class

RUSH: President Obama’s health care law, you heard this? “President Barack Obama’s health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed.” Oh, really? “Up to 3 million more people could qualify for Medicaid in 2014 as a result of the anomaly. That’s because, in a major change from today, most of their Social Security benefits would no longer be counted as income for determining eligibility. It might be compared to allowing middle-class people to qualify for food stamps,” and they’re trying to tell us this was an accident. They’re trying to tell us this was an anomaly. They’re trying to say, “Oh, gosh, you know what? We missed this. We didn’t know that this was in the bill before it was signed.” But somebody had to write it in there.

Now, one of the people who gets credit for writing, the actual pen to paper, was Weiner. Anthony Weiner either took it or was given it or a combination of both, credit for writing Obamacare. Somebody had to write it in there. Remember Pelosi said, “We gotta pass this to find out what’s in it.” Well, that’s happening. And you know that there will be many more discoveries like this. Three million more people could qualify for Medicaid in 2014 as a result of this anomaly. Now, let me ask you a question. Three million middle-class people will get nearly free health insurance meant for the poor, who is paying for that? Other members of the middle class and people in the upper middle class and the wealthy. That’s who will be paying for this. Anybody want to take any bets on the recipients saying, “No, no, I don’t deserve this. I don’t qualify.” Any bets on people turning this down? I don’t think so. I think the recipients will gladly accept the mistake ’cause this is what they thought it was gonna be in the first place. This is what they thought it was gonna be, free health care.

This is not an accident. This is how the left continues to massage people and get them dependent on government and expecting the government to do this kind of thing for them. And we only hear about it now after the bill is signed into law. And this line here, this is an AP story: “It might be compared to allowing middle-class people to qualify for food stamps.” They do, don’t they? Folks, if we got 54 million food stamp recipients I guarantee you some are middle-class people. You know there are. You may be one, for crying out loud. And if you’re not a middle class person on food stamps I’m sure you’ve seen one, or a number of them at the market when you go in there.

Richard Foster, the Medicare chief actuary, “says the situation keeps him up at night. ‘I don’t generally comment on the pros or cons of policy, but that just doesn’t make sense,’ Foster said during a question-and-answer session at a recent professional society meeting. ‘This is a situation that got no attention at all,’ added Foster. ‘And even now, as I raise the issue with various policymakers, people are not rushing to say … we need to do something about this.'” Of course they’re not. They don’t intend to do anything about it. This is buying votes 101. Interesting how this news happens to hit the outset of an election season where a Democrat incumbent is in trouble. And all of a sudden now we find out, shazam, three million middle-class people are gonna get free health care. (laughing) Yeah. Wow. What a shocker.

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RUSH: The White House is defending this three million additional freebies on Medicaid. They’re defending it. It got no real attention when Obamacare was rammed through the Senate. It’s not a “loophole.” It’s just another well meaning effort from the left. It’s “the equivalent of food stamps to the middle class,” but well-intentioned, see? So you don’t judge the results of us on the left. Don’t judge us! No, no, no. You’re supposed to examine our big hearts. You’re supposed to take note of our good intentions.

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RUSH: Here’s George in South Winter, Connecticut. Welcome to the EIB Network. Great to have you here.

CALLER: Thanks, Rush. Yeah, I have a boss in sales, and he tells me this all the time: Hope is not a strategy. And there’s a lot of hope going around in this administration, but the reason I called is I just remember during the tail end of the Bush administration, there was a big cry for the lack of utilization of food stamps. They were worried about the program going away maybe because unemployment was low, and then, funny: Now it’s kind of reverted the other way. It’s kind of a quite interesting play how now in this health care bill — which Nancy Pelosi said just pass it and then we’ll find out what’s in it — there’s just kind of this funny provision now that’s almost like giveaway in another area. It’s like they have to give money away! They’re addicted to giving something away, and when they’re not, boy, they’d better figure out something to give away.

RUSH: Well, it is an addiction, but it’s also policy. It’s also a strategy. It’s Vote-Buying 101. You’re bouncing off the news that just somehow… Am I right? It’s been about an hour since I made the point and you’ve been on hold that long, for which I appreciate. But you’re bouncing off the news that all of a sudden they found three million Americans in the middle class qualify for free health care. That’s what you’re commenting on, right?

CALLER: Right. It’s funny how they get there by saying, “Oh, by the way, Social Security is not considered income, so we’ll take that away, so, oh, now you qualify.” So I don’t know. There’s something else going on, cooking in the background there, too, as far as I was concerned.

RUSH: What do you think it is?

CALLER: Well, that Social Security is not guaranteed. (chuckling) It might not even be there.

RUSH: No, what do you think is going on? No you’re saying you think something is going on. What do you think’s going on?

CALLER: Well, I just think, again, everything’s going to be more reliant on the federal government. You’re gonna have to wait for us to give you something.

RUSH: Okay, by design?

CALLER: Right, exactly.

RUSH: Exactly, by design. George, I appreciate the call. Thanks very much.

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