Democrats are in disarray over healthcare reform, and opponents should keep up the pressure to defeat the reform effort, says Newsmax columnist Dick Morris.
In an interview with Newsmax.TV’s Ashley Martella, Morris said now that Democrats have been forced to abandon the public option, they are trying to impose expensive changes in Medicare and Medicaid instead.
“The liberals have a backup plan,” Morris says. First, they’re trying to reduce the eligibility age for Medicare to 55 from 65.
And second, they’re going to increase Medicaid coverage to include people up to 150 percent of the poverty level, which is about $27,000.
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“So anyone over 55 or who makes less than $27,000 would then have a single payer – the government,” Morris says.
The problem is that 50 million new people would be added to Medicare, he says. “So they’re essentially doubling the Medicare population at the same time that they’ve cut Medicare [funding] by $500 billion.”
In addition, “They’re going to cut reimbursement rates to doctors and hospital, so that many clinics and doctors and hospitals will say no, we’re not going to take Medicare patients,” Morris says.
As for the increased Medicaid coverage, states will have to pay 10 percent of the bill, Morris says.
“So when Obama said he wouldn’t increase taxes on the middle class, well he may not be, but he’s making the governors do it for him.”
The new program “comes out of left field,” Morris says. “This is an idea that’s now 48 hours old, and they’re hoping to put it through. But it’s an indicator of the disarray that the left is in that they had to adopt this fallback position.”
So what should opponents of healthcare reform do? “Keep pouring it on,” Morris says. “Once you get ‘em on the run, you keep up the pressure.”
Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid has a long path for passing a new bill, Morris says. “There’s no bill anymore. There are a couple ideas that they’ve put together here.”
The ideas have to be turned into legislative language and sent to the Congressional Budget Office, which has to sign off on the cost.
And then Reid has to get senators to back the new bill. “A lot can go wrong in that three-stage process,” Morris says.
“You’re talking about hundreds of billions of dollars a year of extra spending in those two proposals. What’s that going to do to the federal budget?” Morris asked rhetorically.
“That’s all stuff that needs to be worked out.”
On the issue of climate change, Morris says the private sector already is reducing carbon emission and doesn’t need any regulation by the government.
“Obama has said he wants a 17 percent cut below the carbon emissions we had in 2005,” Morris says.
“We’re already 8 percent lower than we were in 2005,” thanks to companies being conscious of the issue, citizens making changes in their lives and the recession.
“Climate change has always been an excuse for the left to impose global governance and regulation over industries and utilities,” Morris said. “Now they’re losing the excuse.”
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