I wonder how much federal money Rick Perry has to reject before he gets thrown out of office. He just opted out of the national high-risk insurance pool:
The state already runs a high-risk pool for health insurance for those who find it difficult to get coverage elsewhere. The pool reported that in 2008 it covered about 26,000 Texans and paid out about $265 million in medical and pharmacy benefits.
The federal funding would have expanded the program to cover more people. According to HHS, Texas’ share of federal funding likely would have been about $493 million.
The federal program would provide insurance for anyone who is a U.S. citizen, has not had health insurance for six months and has a pre-existing condition. The Texas pool requires a person previously to have had coverage for at least 18 months and been denied coverage due to health reasons or been offered health insurance that excluded coverage for a medical condition.
This comes on the heels of Perry’s rejection of $550 billion million in unemployment stimulus, and his decision not to compete for Race to the Top education funds. His election opponent should start running ads featuring New York limousine liberals thanking Perry for lowering their taxes, since Texas is one of the few Southern states that pays in more federal money than it receives back from Washington.
Adam Collyer
It’s almost like Perry thinks that Texas is better off doing things on its own.
Oh wait…
robertdsc
That’s a good thing. This Administration’s Dept. of Education is shit.
Race To the Top not what it seems
As for the rest, I feel too fucked up to speak kindly of his stupid ass.
maddie
Sorry to nitpick, but should that read $550 million (not billion) in unemployment funds?
beltane
For the record, Texas already has one of, if not the highest percentage of uninsured residents in the country, along with some of the highest medical costs. Rick Perry wants to keep it that way. Expensive, inefficient, and inhumane is the Republican way.
The Grand Panjandrum
@robertdsc: Sorry but that little piece didn’t say shit. It was basically a whine fest without much data to back it up. What the fuck is Arne’s right wing agenda? California elects a bunch of wingnuts and now Obama’s Education Secretary is the problem? Sorry, but California is a fucking mess and Duncan isn’t the problem.
And as for Rick Perry, I think he will be elected for turning down the money. They have no state income tax. Who’s taxes are being raised? At the federal level Obama has promised to raise the taxes of people making more the $250K and that will not effect most Texans. I don’t see how he loses when you have a state filled with wingnuts, secessionists and teabaggers. We’re talking Texas here, most Democrats in Texas would have to run as a Republican in other states.
Phyllis
SC opted out of a state high risk pool as well. Shocked you are, I know.
Phyllis
@robertdsc:
This.
I was at a national education conference in DC on the day the first ‘winners’ were announced. We were all on our crackberries trying to get the news because folks at both the dept of ed in SC and in local school districts busted their a**es working on that original proposal.
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a mood shift in a room so quickly when the awardees were announced. People were rightfully pissed and felt very much as if they’d been played.
eta: Block quote fail.
Scott
Don’t get me started. I’m a Texan, and I hate him. And the thing is, I know a ton of Republicans, and they all hate him, too, specifically for doing stuff like this. And for being an arrogant ass. None of us can figure out how he manages to beat anyone.
I don’t know if playing to the craziest wingnuts is just working out really well for him, or if he has his Sec. of State tweak election returns in his favor.
kay
@Phyllis:
I think it’s grandstanding by GOP governors.
HHS can set up a pool if the state opts out.
The Texas high risk pool has this notice, which they ask people to read before they sign up for the Texas state pool that exists:
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) into law. The Act contains a provision (Sec. 1101) for a new federal high risk health insurance pool program to be established within 90 days (the “Federal Pool”). To qualify, an individual must be a citizen or national of the United States, or lawfully present, must have a preexisting medical condition and must have been uninsured for at least 6 months before applying for the federal program. An enrollee in the Federal Pool will pay a premium rate equal to standard market rates. Moreover, Federal Pool coverage will not be subject to any preexisting condition exclusion.
I think it probably goes like stimulus. They get the benefit but deny getting it.
mistermix
@maddie: Yes, thanks.
middlewest
Ratbastard Pawlenty rejected the money, too. Having a republican governor is literally a death sentence for some people now.
MikeJ
Race to the Top looks like it’s exactly what it seems. They said up front that only a few states would get the money. Delaware and Tennessee won. Everybody else lost. Like in a competition. Winners and losers. If you don’t like the game, don’t play.
Sorry you didn’t get a certificate of participation.
kay
@Phyllis:
It’ll be interesting to see what happens. 27 states opted in. The opt out state residents are going to do one of two things: be able to join a state pool that HHS sets up through a contractor, or join a “federal pool”. I suppose HHS could set up a federal pool through a contractor, so maybe three things.
I don’t know which state residents will do better. In any event, the states that opt out are getting federal money, but their GOP governors can claim they aren’t.
Allison W.
@robertdsc:
What kind of “article” was that? Right wing Arne Duncan? give us a link to real critique of the program, please.
Allison W.
@Scott:
what’s the voter turn out like in TX?
Texans have to vote this election, even if its just voting against someone. This guy must be taught a lesson.
stuckinred
@MikeJ: These jackasses in Georgia came in third. Fucking morons got exactly what they deserved, nuttin.
Allison W.
@Phyllis:
follow the rules, you win the prize. Did the states that won cheat? Can you prove that other states did exactly what they were supposed to and still didn’t get it anyway?
stuckinred
I get it, you bust your ass writing a proposal and that means you should get the grant? In what universe?
Aimai
It’s no lose for thevright wing governors. If anything goes wrong with the HHS mandated and managed pools the state won’t get the blame. If everything goes well with them the governors will take credit since most desperate people don’t have any idea whobis paying for their entitlements or how a program was set up.
Aimai
Brian J
@Allison W.:
When making the case that Texas was right for the picking for the Democrats in the coming years in federal elections, I remember reading about voter turn out in the state. Compared to many other states, it’s pretty low, and that’s only counting the people who are registered. There are millions more who aren’t even registered. Part of that probably has to do with the fact that nobody contests the state, so there’s a much smaller effort to get people to sign up and fewer ads to motivate those who are signed up to actually vote.
If I had to guess, I’d imagine the same sort of turn out is likely for state races, but what do I know?
Mike Kay
looks like Perry is running for president.
jwb
I’m no Perry supporter, but that article was somewhat misleading. In deciding not to offer a high-risk pool, Perry simply ceded control of the Texas high-risk pool to the Feds. The consequences of that decision, however, are not at all clear.
Violet
Bill White (Dem candidate for Gov. and former Houston mayor) is doing pretty well against Perry. Last polls I saw, he had drawn relatively close to Perry. There’s still time. The average person won’t pay attention until August/September.
Bill White is our first real shot at having a Dem. Governor in a long time. He was a good mayor of Houston, got statewide and national positive coverage after Hurricane Ike, and even non-Democrats end up liking him.
jwb
@Mike Kay: He hasn’t learned this yet, but flirting with that secessionist shit basically made him unelectable at a national level.
jwb
@Violet: Unfortunately I don’t see White talking out Perry without some help. Six months of other states passing stupid immigration legislation would certainly help. On the other hand, the Texas budget looks truly miserable for the coming session, so whoever is elected will be lucky to come out of it with an approval rating above 20%.
Brian J
@Violet:
But what’s going to happen when it’s revealed he’s a gay commie Islamofacist dictator in training, and took hot naked showers with Rahm Emmanuel, Eric Massa, and Rev. Wright, all while being filmed by Bill Ayers? Will he be so well liked then?
Mike Kay
@jwb: oh, i agree.
Thing is these people have no self awareness. Phil gramm ran for president in 1996. John Connolly ran for president in 1980. You can even toss George Bush Sr., who first ran for prez in 1980. Bush Sr. is kinda controversial because he didn’t spend much time in texas. then there’s Perot. These guys are all the same.
jwb
@Mike Kay: I actually think Perry would have had a decent shot at getting the nomination had he not shot his mouth off about secession. (He also would be in better position had he chosen not to run for Governor again.) The Texas economy has done quite a lot better than the nation as a whole—though we’re about to get a very rude awakening when the legislature comes back into session. I’m almost certain the state has been sitting on some truly horrible economic numbers that we won’t see until after the November election, and all hell will break loose at that point. The fix that’s going to be needed to address them is going to be miserable all around; I think we’re going to be looking at a California-sized problem. If Perry really is planning on running for President that will make things even worse, as he’ll have to drive the state deep, deep into the ground to show that he’s worthy.
Violet
@jwb:
Yeah, I kind of agree, but you never know how things will play out over the summer and early fall. People won’t begin paying attention until after the kids go back to school in August.
Just did a quick check and I’m seeing that Perry has only a four to six point lead over White in the latest polls. That’s easy to overcome, especially with some help.
The good news is, even Republicans don’t like Perry these days. Oh, sure, the teabagging Palin fans still do, but a lot don’t. And people like White. Plus, Perry’s been in for a long time. Texas is ready for a change.
Phyllis
@stuckinred: I was unclear in my comment-trust me, I’ve written many a proposal that I killed myself over that didn’t get funded. Grantwriting’s kind of a crapshoot that way, and you have to learn to roll with it.
Regarding RT3, the program is flawed. I’m not sure I see the Machiavellian intrigue in the article Robertdsc linked to, but I do think 1) It’s really not enough money to drive true innovation; 2) There’s too much reliance on models that don’t have much of a research base; and 3) If you say you’re going to make a certain number of awards in the first round (in this case, 5-6), you should do that. Or give a better explanation as to why you only funded 2-which is why I said many states felt as if they’d been played.
kay
@jwb:
I don’t know how it’s going to play out either. The states that are suing to block the law can hardly start voluntarily complying with the law, so I didn’t expect any cooperation from them, and, of course, Republicans want this thing to fail, so there’s that.
If individuals in those opt-out states do join is a federal high risk pool, we’ll be able to test the “sell insurance across state lines” theory, but not for long, because the high risk pools are absorbed into the bigger system beginning in 2012.
jwb
@Violet: I’m surprised (and delighted) to hear that the race is that close. I don’t actually remember seeing a poll yet. It’s certainly true that Perry is not well liked by a certain contingent of Texas Republicans (the one who were pushing Hutchison). I suppose the question is whether that group is willing to abandon Perry and, if so, whether it is large enough to make up the gap.
jwb
@kay: No, it certainly wasn’t a surprise when Texas opted out of this. I’m not sure how the federal running of the pools will work. The Austin paper says this: “The high-risk pools will offer coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions who have been uninsured for 6 months, at a cost similar to what everybody else pays. In states that decline to run the pools, the federal government will step in and run them.” I do know that Texas currently has a state-run pool, which it will apparently continue to run.
kay
@jwb:
It’s going to be difficult to get people signed up in the states that opt out, because states already have infrastructure in place to reach people. The biggest problem in S-CHIP is making people aware of the availability of the program. If you’re not a person who has contact with state officialdom, you don’t know S-CHIP exists, let alone how to sign up. And, it’s insurance, so big pool means cheaper (theoretically).
Anyway, I think 27 states actually trying to make this thing work is enough. Hopefully those people in states with GOP governors (all of the opt-outs are GOP states) will want efficient access, and if the 27 opt-ins do a good job, they’ll be a powerful argument for voluntary compliance.
BottyGuy
I think that opting out may be the better plan, since it will result in a bigger federal pool. If all states opted out the pool could just be run as part of medicare.
master c
This race is in play!
Ive been wondering when we will hear more about it. Everybody who was in Houston during Katrita likes Bill White. Texas may not vote in a Dem, but we could get close.
Violet
@master c:
This is so true. My former neighbor, a solid Republican voter, loves Bill White. During the aftermath of Ike, when Perry parachuted in to look Governorish, she sneered at his image on the generator-run TV. Bill White she loved because he worked hard every day, had clear and concise updates and instructions for everyone, and it was obvious he was getting things done. She told me at the time she would vote for him for Governor for sure. I don’t think she’s alone in feeling like that.
KCinDC
Wait, the federal high-risk pool requires that you have no insurance for six months before you can join? What exactly are people supposed to do for those six months? How much idiocy and inefficiency do we have to pack into the system in order to keep the insurance company parasites around?
Violet
Still eating my post. FYWP. I’ll try without the link.
It’s from a Dallas Morning News political blog. I don’t think I can link it because the post gets eaten.
master c
Right after Katrina, came Rita, and civically, it was a tough time. But immediately following Katrina, the Astrodome was full of people getting help and giving it, really the community ralled, and the city, lead by Bill White took on many new citizens. He’s got my vote
JGabriel
Better: Wall Street Fat Cats.
Start at a Wall Street corner sign, pan down to middle-aged businessmen and hookers climbing out of a stretch limo in the morning light, while an announcer talks about all the Federal money Rick Perry has rejected, and end with the business man doing a thumbs-up and saying, “Thanks, Rick Perry!”
.
Violet
@master c:
You are not alone in thinking this. Bill White may surprise some people by being a very strong contender.
xjmueller
I’m not clear on all the details here, but aren’t the states that don’t establish high-risk pools effectly opting for a “national” or “federal” system, or at least contributing to it? I understand the immediate politics behind the opt-out, but isn’t this the sort of thing these politicians said they didn’t want? I suppose you can spin it any way you want, but if it makes a stronger national program, don’t they lose? Am I missing something?
jwb
@Violet: Well, that poll is Rasmussen as well, so that means White is probably up by 15 points. :) And even if the Rasmussen poll is accurate, that’s a pretty good result in every respect except the relatively low number of undecideds (which I actually find very suspicious at this stage of the race). The Morning News blog, however, is full of shit, pretending that a 2% change is particularly meaningful, since it’s certainly within the margin error.
Fergus Wooster
@Brian J:
I think they’ll stay away from swishboating Bill White, given that Rick Perry has been rumored for years to be a closet case (part of the reason a lot of Texas Republicans dislike him).
Sentient Puddle
@jwb: Maybe the low number of undecideds have something to do with the likely voter screen Rasmussen uses. i.e., a lot of Republicans aren’t enthusiastic about voting for Perry again, and may just sit this one out.
Yeah, that theory has about 20 different “if” cases in it, but eh. I can add to the anecdotes that the hardcore Republicans ’round here are rather ambivalent about Perry getting reelected (only difference being that they know Bill White as “that other guy in the race”).
jwb
@Fergus Wooster: I didn’t think that was the crew of Goopers that disliked Perry.
LD50
I remember in the old days, incumbent candidates for office used to BRAG about how much DC money they snagged for their state. Now it’s a plus for Repubs to REJECT money? Fuckin’ weird.
Fine, Perry, pass it over to California, we’ll take it.
Nylund
Call me a cynic, but sometimes I feel like the GOP plan is just to make life as miserable as possible under Obama just to help themselves politically.
In other words, “My re-election is more important than your well-being, health, and livelihood.”
And often it works!
The incentives for politicians do not correlate with the well-being of the populace as long as voters are misinformed/uniformed as I’ve observed them to be here in Texas.
I have relatives who HATE the prescription benefit “donut hole,” but insist that the best course of action is to vote for the party that created it, not the one fixing it. Politics in Texas are more absurd than anything Eugene Ionesco could ever imagine.
chuck
Perry didn’t so much reject the money as he opted to cede authority and funding for the risk pool to the Federal Government.
Now that’s irony.
(edit: and I can see from reading more of the thread that I’m Captain Redundant. Also. Ah well, can’t stress the point enough.)
Da Bomb
@Violet: This.
Perry is not as popular here as people think. He sucks, always has. There are sane Republicans here that don’t like him.
Bill White is fairly popular.
The only reason why Perry won the last time, was because of the low voter turnout and he barely won the primary.
Mike G
The words ‘Texas’, ‘education’ and ‘top’ don’t naturally go together.
Americanadian
@xjmueller: I don’t think you’ve missed anything. Who knew Democratic Congresscritters were hiding such deviousness behind their lack of testicular fortitude?
jwb
@Da Bomb: No, Perry won the primary fairly handily. He barely got through without a runoff, but that is something else entirely, since Hutchison and Medina split the Perry Gooper opposition. But he would have destroyed either of them in the runoff. The reason he won in 2006 is because Texas remains a very conservative state, which is why White still is very much the underdog and will require either some big external event or a big unforced error by Perry to win.
The Endless Sheriff
The vast majority of the good people of Texas are solid up-standing citizens. Why Gov. Goodhair is still a viable candidate for anything after openly flirting with secession last year is beyond me.
Now we have the GOP candidate for gov of Minnesota saying 2/3s of both houses of the state legislature need to approve a federal law. The infection is spreading.
There is a Chinese saying about killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. That time is getting closer.
Da Bomb
@jwb: I apologize, I didn’t specify what primary. I am not talking about the recent Republican primary. I am speaking of the previous election, back in 2006.
sue
Because I have been treated by a doctor in my lifetime, I am stuck with Texas Risk Pool or being uninsured. I am convinced uninsured/self insured is what i should be doing.
You can get generic meds through them for 188.00 for 90 day supply when the grocery store pharmacy sells the exact same thing for $9.99. Yes, that is almost 200 vs almost 10 bucks. No wonder we have the most uninsured.
Oh, that wonderful coverage costs me about $600 per month for policy with $5000 deductable. so the first $12,000 comes out of my pocket each year.
Thankfully, I don’t have any serious health issues – other than getting screwed over for my coverage by my state.