The Supreme Court decided last month that under the Affordable Care Act, the expansion of Medicaid should be optional. Ever since, more and more Republican governors have been trying to pass it up. Among them is the Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
He declared quite defiantly as he said, " I will not be party to socializing health care and bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution and our founding principles of limited government."
He believes that "neither a state exchange nor the expansion of medicaid under this program would result in better 'patient protection' or in more affordable care. They would only make Texas a mere appendage of the federal government when it comes to health care."
While all this confident and defiant decision is good, we can't help but notice some major flaws about it. It appears that this was more of Perry's decision based on his ideologies because it leaves some severe disadvantages for the public.
The decision hurts county taxpayers and the hospitals they support, forcing them to continue paying for the uninsured. Hospitals pass along the cost of treating uninsured patients to insured patients
Another question is that would it end up costing less if the uninsured Texans were relying on emergency rooms every time with something as minor as the common cold?
While Perry thinks that he is protecting Texans from "already unsustainable Medicaid program" he should suggest ways in which he is going to deal with the negative effects of his decisions.
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