is the option working

IS THE OPTION WORKING

its the land of opportunity
arkansas
i grew up there and went to medical school and residency there
most of my family lives there
so i think im familiar with the state

its a red state with a touch of blue
a republican legislature with a democratic governor
a republican senator and a democratic senator


thats the right combo i think for a political system
where one party doesnt totally dominant the state
a one party system is not a good thing
whether its democratic or republican
we need that balance that the two parties provide so
we dont get too extreme either way
as
most people are in the middle any way

so when the obamacare law went into effect
most republican states said no to the medicaid option
those billions of dollars that would go to those who
really are caught in no mans land
too "rich" for regular medicaid
too poor for subsidies on the exchanges
they just got left out in those states
those folks who needed it the most


although arkansas is part of the deep south
it has always it seems been a little different at times
from the other southern states
sometimes it will turn blue on issues that wont happen
elsewhere

so
arkansas applied to the feds to be allowed to take the money
for the medicaid extension and put into a private option
for those folks screwed by the failure to accept money like
eg texas and florida and lousiaina etal did

people there were able to buy private insurance with the money


now in the state since this option has taken effect
the number of emergency room visits in the states have
dropped by 2%
and
the number of visits by the uninsured have dropped by 24%
and
one hospital has noticed a 50% drop in the uninsured visits

why
its the private option that the state allowed to occur with the
new obamacare law

according to many hospital administrators in the state the
new private option in arkansas is the deal maker
that will keep their hospital afloat

when i was a resident i use to moonlight in the emergency room
in the area where the emergency room saw a drop of 50%
in the uninsured emergency room visits


its a poor part of the state
on the edge of the delta
real poor
so im not surprised that more folks in that area were benefited
by the private option
as well as a result the local hospitals
which now may survive financial
thanks to the two parties working together to make the system work

so
arkansas arkansas i salute thee

now
if only texas could do the same
maybe they wouldnt be first in  all the bad healthcare stats

heck texas isnt even close to being number one in football anymore

the organicgreen doctor