“Big Sister” Mills Rescinds Work Requirement for Medicaid Recipients
By: David Deschesne
Fort Fairfield Journal, January 30, 2019
The free candy the Democrats promised their voters last November just got a whole lot freer as Maine’s Democrat governor, Janet “Big Sister” Mills rescinded the work or volunteer requirement for Medicaid recipients under the soon to be bankrupted MaineCare system. Big Sister wants to make sure the free handouts to Medicaid recipients continue unabated to those who have become accustomed to receiving something for nothing.
According to a press release from the Mills administration, Big Sister “sent a letter to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services informing the agency that Maine would not accept the terms of the pending 1115 Medicaid waiver. Instead, Governor Mills has directed Acting Commissioner of Labor Laura Fortman and Acting Commissioner of Health and Human Services Jeanne Lambrew to make available vocational training and workforce supports to MaineCare participants at every opportunity while increasing access to needed services that keep people in the workforce.”
Big Sister Mills then subtly admitted “vocational training” and “workforce supports” are essentially moot points when targeted toward a demographic that has become accustomed to receiving free handouts with no intention of ever actively seeking employment to pay their own way. “Mounting evidence demonstrates that work requirements only impose burdensome mandates on people without increasing workforce participation,” Mills’ news release said. Ergo, said “vocational training” and “workforce supports” won't make any meaningful impact on most Medicaid recipients' desire to actually work to pay their own bills.
The work requirements sought by outgoing Governor, Paul LePage were approved on December 21, 2018 by the Feds, and would have required some non-disabled, non-elderly Medicaid recipients to work, volunteer or attend school 80 hours per month or risk losing Medicaid benefits. Also, some would be required to pay premiums of up to $40 per month to receive Medicaid.
These requirements to actually make some Medicaid recipients put forth an effort to pay their own way was seen as horrendous and overbearing to Big Sister Mills, since she would rather have the productive members of society be forced to pay the expenses of her voting block of constituents.
In addition to Maine, the Trump administration also approved Medicaid work requirements for Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin. However, in Maine, with Big Sister in charge, the free Medicaid ride will continue without the need for its beneficiaries to make any meaningful contribution toward the expenses of their own health and well-being. Instead, they will be comfortably secure in the tax collection arm of the government confiscating money from people, who do choose to work, to pay that bill on their behalf.
Editor’s note: To those who think this writer is being a bit harsh, consider that a few hours prior to writing this story, I gashed the tip of one of my fingers real good doing my own auto repair work in my driveway, in the freezing rain and snow. Instead of whining in a corner and waiting for someone else to take care of my job, and subsequently expenses, I taped up my finger with black electrical tape to stop the profuse bleeding (No hospital visit for me; I can’t afford it and don’t want the government to force somebody else to pay my bill). Later that evening, I proceeded to type with that bulky finger constantly hitting both the “A” key and the “Caps Lock” key. (Consider how many of the letter ’a’ that is typed in a typical story).
While working with a temporary handicap, I still did my own work and finished my repair job. With that disabled finger I then typed another ten pages to finish this edition of Fort Fairfield Journal. I also took care of splitting the firewood by hand and cleaned the snow out of the driveway — all without anybody’s help. So, don’t complain to me about my brash treatment of people who don’t want to put forth a similar level of effort to take care of themselves or their family. I won’t hear it.
