A reader writes:
I have had a sinking feeling about the future of Medicaid since the most recent election. I am the parent of a child with a developmental disability who receives home care services via Medicaid. We have always worked full time and own our home, so no we're not "welfare queens" seeking handouts. We have to resort to Medicaid because there is nothing else available.
Trust me, the private sector has no incentive to find ways to care for children like mine.
Cuts to Medicaid will result in more people like my daughter having to live in institutions, at a much higher cost to the public than home-based care. Most elected officials are clueless about this; I know I've had to sit down with my current and prior state delegates to educate them since they had no idea. (This video from Virginia state delegate Patrick Hope discusses the downward spiral that would result from cuts to Medicaid.)
Since Sarah Palin reminds us so often that she has a child with a developmental disability, surely she will use her Mama Grizzly pulpit to educate the public about the dire economic, budgetary, and social costs that would result from cuts to Medicaid, right? Riiiiight...