Corey has issued a call to arms to his Tea Party base, or who he perceives to be his Tea Party base. Others have called it a call for anarchy.
Unfortunately, the Whereas remarks are mostly speculation. The law does not take effect until Jan 1, 2014. The rush to urgency is simply not there, regardless of how much Corey tries to make this a case of imminent impending doom.
We will post the actual meat of the resolution, items 1-4, individually in the next post. Even the most casual observer will note that Corey’s ‘Opt Out Resolution ‘ opts out of nothing and will only cost the county money it doesn’t have.
The other supervisors are wise to his tricks now. They realize that he is salivating to be elected Lt. governor in 2013 or elected to some other higher office at either state or national level. They also realize that he wants to climb up this ladder of success on their backs, not on what is good for the county. They know that pulling the Department of Social Services to do investigative work is bad business. This agency has recently regrouped and reorganized after the tragic death of Lexie Glover. They have a new director. To pull people off of their routine work load to go do investigative work is wrong and disruptive. When county people are pulled to work on other things, then the regular work load just doesn’t get done.
The power of 4 is going to be the power of a little bit more than 4, this time.
Below is a copy of the proposed “Opt Out” Resolution to be presented on May 4, 2010.
MOTION: May 4, 2010
Regular Meeting
SECOND: Res. No. 10-
RE: REALLOCATION OF COUNTY RESOURCES TO COMPLY WITH PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
ACTION: APPROVED
WHEREAS, Medicaid is an entitlement program authorized under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, financed by the state and federal governments and administered by the States. The Virginia Medicaid program is administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS); and
WHEREAS, the provision of eligibility workers to enroll beneficiaries and administer benefits has been imposed on Prince William County government with insufficient overhead funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia to cover all costs of administration; Prince William County citizens fund 53% of the administrative costs of administration through their local taxes; and
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia currently covers eligible children, parents or caretakers of children, pregnant women, elderly persons, and persons who are blind or disabled, and the Virginia Medicaid population for Fiscal Year 2008 was 487,929 children, 142,180 parents or caretakers of children and pregnant women, 81,541 elderly persons, 182,636 persons who are blind or who have disabilities; and
WHEREAS, due to the provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March 22, 2010, Virginia will add an estimated 400,000 residents to its Medicaid rolls, and by 2022, will spend an additional $1.1 billion, according to a projection from Virginia’s DMAS cited publically by Governor Robert F. McDonnell.
WHEREAS, private practice providers, general hospitals, children’s hospitals, and other health care providers have expressed grave concern that an open ended surge in Medicaid beneficiaries, and an anticipated decrease in reimbursement rates by States, will force providers out of business or force them to turn away currently served Medicaid populations; and
WHEREAS, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors strongly believes that there should be affordable access to high quality health care in Prince William County, and is gravely concerned that the changes to Medicaid will reduce the amount of affordable care available and reduce the Medicaid population’s access to health care as well; and
WHEREAS, Prince William County funds the administration of Medicaid benefits through their general fund, and the general fund is the primary source of funding for education, police protection, transportation, and all other critical county functions as identified in the strategic plan; and
WHEREAS, Prince William County currently provides local taxpayer funding totaling $6,526,214 within the Department of Social Services in FY 2010 administering benefits including Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Food Stamps, Medicaid, Refugee Resettlement, Auxiliary Grants for the elderly and disabled, general relief, and financial assistance to eligible families for the purchase of child care services; and
WHEREAS, according to testimony provided to the Board of County Supervisors on March 23, 2010 there is already a shortage of benefits administration staff and therefore insufficient capacity to handle the increase in the Medicaid eligible population created by the federal PPAC; and
WHEREAS, the PPAC constitutes an indirect unfunded mandate which completely ignores the cost of administration to local jurisdictions, forcing them to reallocate their scarce human services resources to less critical populations;
WHEREAS, Prince William County will honor state and federal law but is concerned that the PPAC will place a significant new financial burden on localities in the near future;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Prince William Board of County Supervisors requests that the Department of Social Services, assisted by County staff:
1. Estimate the additional population eligible for Medicaid in Prince William County as of January 1, 2014 according to the provisions of the PPAC and the regulations which will probably be promulgated by the federal government to implement the PPAC; and
2. Estimate the additional financial burden to the County taxpayers for additional administration of benefits for the newly expanded, less-sensitive population; and
3. Work with private health care providers to estimate the magnitude of the reduction of available health care options for the Medicaid population in Prince William County; and
4. Advise the Commonwealth and the federal government that unless additional resources are found at the federal and state levels of government to fund the administration of the expansion of Medicaid, that Prince William County will be forced to raise taxes on County residents or slash strategic services in order to fund eligibility workers to administer the massive expansion in the eligible population which will become effective on January 1, 2014 enrollment of newly covered beneficiaries.
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Prince William BOCS directs the County Executive to:
- Estimate the increased cost burden the PPAC will have on the County’s provision of health insurance to its employees; and
- Provide comment to the Federal government as regulations and procedures are written which implement the Health Reform legislation in order to ensure that the impacts on local governments both from the significant expansion of Medicaid and from the implementation of other sections of the legislation are fully articulated.
Votes:
Ayes:
Nays:
Absent from Vote:
Absent from Meeting:
For Information:
None
CERTIFIED COPY___________________________________________________________
Clerk to the Board
Original Proclamation made by Corey over the weekend of April 10, 2010
What other federal laws and regulations can we “opt out” of?
Corey Stewart is nothing but a political scumbag seeking higher office at the expense of his constituents.
You know, if he hadn’t made any statements regarding this resolution beforehand and simply put out the written version, I don’t see much of anything in this that is controversial and for the most part makes very cogent, coherent points regarding the implementation affects of the new programs. Since it doesnt seem to direct county staff to break any laws, doesn’t seem to threaten to “opt out” of anything and merely states the potential negative effects I wonder how any of the BOCS could really oppose it as written. If you read it in its entirety closely, I see very little if any room to oppose it.
It looks as though Corey is speaking out of both sides of this mouth again – pandering to his base and the fearful (probably the same people) with the wording “opt-out” on the flyer and taking a more measured tone in his potential presentation to the Board. I wonder what would stop the Board from simply asking staff what those anticipated numbers would be – without all the resolution hoopla?
Moon – can you insert in this thread the link to the video of Corey making the speech in Stafford (I think that’s where it was) saying his resolution would ask staff not to administer Medicaid? The juxtaposition of that bombastic nonsense to this actual milquetoast resolution would be interesting. The only thing this resolution seems to be doing is wasting tax staff time trying to estimate the cost of something several years away that might not even happen.
The two Democrats will certainly vote against this resolution and I’m asking the other Republicans (my Party) to vote against it also for the sake of our credibility.
If he “tables” the resolution at the meeting, then he knows he doesn’t have the votes to pass it. He is not going to risk the embarrassment of being defeated by his own board on this issue.
NTK,
What in the resolution would compel the Democrats on the board to vote against the resolution other than the fact that Stewart brought it forth? The resolution is so benign in its wording that to vote no would only serve to look extremely partisan and petty. I get it, I get it…we despise Corey Stewart and everything he says or does but if Jenkins or Nohe had put forth this resolution which in reading it could very easily have been believable, would the opposition to it be so voracious? I think the fact that the wording is so watered down with very little to oppose, coming on the heels of the over the top announcement a couple of weeks ago is a particularly deft political move. Ivan, I really believe there is no chance that it gets tabled-too much publicity has been generated. He really is in a win-win spot here. If it passes, he’s a hero to those who want to stand against the federal bill although the resolution as written doesnt call for any illegal activity hence no lawsuit. If it goes down, he’s still the hero to his supporters for standing up against the federal government while those voting no will be left to explain what exactly they found so offensive in that relatively routine resolution other than politics. I could be wrong, it will be interesting…….
Tom Andrews said “…if he hadn’t made any statements regarding this resolution beforehand and simply put out the written version, I don’t see much of anything in this that is controversial and for the most part makes very cogent, coherent points regarding the implementation affects of the new programs.”
That’s exactly the point. The resolution is fine, but Corey’s rhetoric is full of dis-information that fans the flames, creating controversy where none exists. Politicians who do one thing and then misrepresent their actions for perceived political gains are disingenuous at best. This type of leadership benefits no one and tarnishes PWC reputation.
The lack of accurate coverage in local newspapers is one key reason some politicians get away with this type of behavior in PWC. An informed public is essential to good government. Politicians who game the system to gain personal political advantage are not honorable people and no locality benefits from this type of leadership.
You can fool some of the people all of the time. We will see if Corey can fool all of the people all of the time when the next election rolls around.
Tom Andrews, I agree with much of your summation. It’s the Chair’s political grandstanding, twists of truth, and further political ambition bought on the taxpayers of PWC’s dime that will follow that the Board – unless blind – should surely be aware of. How much more of our county’s reputation will be tarnished by the Chair’s political ambitions? Many of us are counting on cooler heads to protect our tax dollars. It appears as though the State will waste our taxes already – let’s not waste more at the county level. Our tax base is not Corey Stewart’s to play with. A rough cost analysis by staff should give the Board the info it needs without the resolution grandstanding. Afterall, we’re years away at this point from the actual implementation.
Tom – that’s why I asked Moon to repost the video. The ultimate resolution bears little resemblance to Corey’s rhetoric. I would expect Jenkins and Principi to vote against any resolution, however benign, that is at odds with something their Party considers a major accomplishment.
Also, I don’t despise Corey Stewart. Personally, Corey is someone who is a lot of fun to talk to and have a beer with. My problem with Corey, as a former supporter and someone who voted for him twice, is that he has done a complete 180 on the issues that were the basis of my support. I backed Corey because of his positions on issues; I did not support the issues to help Corey. I want a BOCS Chair who will remain consistent and do what they told me they will do.
Like I said, it’s going to be very interesting. As Patton said, ” I love it, God help me I do love it so” LOL
@Need to Know
Yes, I will post the link again.
@Need to Know
How interesting that everyone who knows Corey says the same thing. He is likeable, fun to drink with, and they don’t dislike him at all…but…its that 180 degree spins and the consistency.
I must know 100 people easily that have said exactly what NTK says.
The likeable and fun to drink with describes many people though. but when it turned daylight, would you vote for them?
Tom, I don’t see why a resolution is needed. Aren’t most of those things fairly routine? I would object to getting a bunch of Republican doctors together to provide anecdotal ‘evidence’ on any of this but as far as doing a financial assessment to see if more people need to be hired to handle the ‘crush’ then fine. I expect that is just part of budgeting.
I think the point is: Corey called for anarchy and massive resistance against expansion of medicaid at a rally he assumed were his base support (down in Stafford?) I don’t know why he has to go out of county to find his base. Then he appears at a Tea Party Rally with a mic on April 15 for the anti tax show. He hands out fliers, (see above) saying he is opting out.
This is the resolution. It opts out of nothing. So he has not been truthful and he has once again displayed attention seeking behaviors. Unless he amends his own draft, this is just much ado about nothing. I hope the supervisors vote NO. A resolution is not needed to carry on government. I thought Republicans believed less government was better? That should including meaningless resolutions.
Another neutered resolution if you ask me or how was it Elena put it? A declawed domestic cat?
“Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts.” – Ronald Reagan
A true conservative who should be a role model for all.
That was also the appeal of FDR. He gave people hope in some of the darkest days of our country.
@Moon-howler
The best thing you can say about Ronald Reagan–he knew how to “act” like a president.