Do you have any thoughts about millionaires qualifying for Medicaid? Is this something you'd be interested in reforming?
I have a lot of thoughts! But most of them areĀ āIām not convinced thatās a problem that existsā orĀ āeven if it is a problem that exists, weāve got many more pressing issues in health reform.ā
First, If you searchĀ āmillionaires qualify medicaidā the first few results include dailysignal and infowars, one of which is run by the Heritage Foundation (conservative think tank) and the other is run by Alex Jones (batshit crazy motherfucker, nazi)
If these parties are concerned about it, chances are I am not. In fact, I would question exactly how much of a problem it is in the first place, based solely on those being the sources.
Second,Ā Yes, itās true that if you have non-liquid assetsāsuch as cars, houses, etc.ābut your income is low, you theoretically could qualify for Medicaid. (This is easier if you are a child, elderly, pregnant, or disabled, which are the groups Medicaid was created to serve.) Still, if Bob is a millionaire, heās got to be really fucking stupid to go with Medicaid, which is basement-level insurance that covers an extremely limitedĀ number of things, with a hell of a lot of paperwork and restrictions.Ā
Bob should sell one of his cars and buy individual health insurance like everybody else who doesnāt get employer-sponsored coverage.
Third, at the end of the day, tightening Medicaid restrictions doesnāt hurt the theoretical millionaires who have found a way to game the system. (Thatās what millionaires do;Ā tax shelters and indemnification clauses didnāt spring up naturally.) Making it harder to apply or qualify for Medicaid hurts people who canāt afford financial planners or lawyers or the endless rounds of administrative appeals. It burdens states with over-regulating something that is already very heavily regulated, and doesnāt actual solve any of the genuine issues facing healthcare today.
Fourth and finally, in a perfect world, everybody could have equitable health insurance, regardless of income level or net worth. Iām more interested in working towards that, rather than trying to narrow the gate for access to Medicaid for a tenth of a sliver of the population.
