Republicans Cut Medicaid Funding For Children With Disabilities

Could someone’s heart be any colder, than to refuse medical treatment to children? With disabilities? Two weeks before Christmas, and Texas Republicans gave every parent of a child with a disability a great Christmas gift.

And these are the people we just elected.

Good grief!!!

Republicans are waging war with the social safety net that many less fortunate citizens rely on. I know, every Republican despises people who “rely on” the government. Those moochers that pump out a dozen babies and live off federal tax dollars, are enemy number one according to Republicans.

But hold on. According to a study by The Tax Foundation, the seven states that take the most tax dollars all, all voted Republican in the presidential 2012 election. They are also very poor states, and survive from money from Democratic states. Also according to the study, Red states use up more welfare dollars.

From the study,

“There is a very strong correlation, then, between a state voting for Republicans and receiving more in federal spending than its residents pay to the federal government in taxes (the rust belt and Texas being notable exceptions). In essence, those in blue states are subsidizing those in red states. Both red and blue states appear to be acting politically in opposition to their economic interests. Blue states are voting for candidates who are likely to continue the policies of red state subsidization while red states are voting for candidates who profess a desire to reduce federal spending (and presumably red state subsidization).” Politicususa article

Republicans who read that obviously blame the liberal journalist’s spin. Guess what? There is no spin. It gets even worse. The reason that Republicans enacted this brutal budget cut is so that they could give the money to their wealthy friends.

A year after they initially ordered it, Texas will enact cuts to government payments to therapists who treat children with disabilities. Such Medicaid reimbursement rates are used to help disabled babies and toddlers. These cuts will be applied in Dec. 15.

Kids with autism and Down syndrome will be denied treatment. By denying Texas this crucial money, Texas lawmakers are denying some children the gift of walking, communicating and essentially living.

“This is terrible news for Texas kids with disabilities and developmental delays and their families,” Stephanie Rubin said, the head of a children’s care advocacy group in Texas. “Kids with autism, speech delays, Down syndrome, and other disabilities and delays rely on these therapies to learn to walk, communicate with their families, get ready for school, and meet other goals.” If You Only News article

By refusing to treat the most neediest children, Texas Republicans save $350 million overnight.

Those Texas state legislatures, driving home in their Bentleys will not be affected by the cuts. They could sit beneath the Christmas tree, and hand out lavish gifts to their family. Those who will be most affected are:

• children
• poor
• disabled
• lives in Texas

If you have a kid that meets those four requirements…Merry Christmas!

Republican leader Paul Ryan summed it up best with a story he gave:

She once met a young boy from a poor family. And every day at school, he would get a free lunch from a government program. But he told Eloise he didn’t want a free lunch. He wanted his own lunch — one in a brown-paper bag just like the other kids’. He wanted one, he said, because he knew a kid with a brown-paper bag had someone who cared for him.

These people are disgusting.

Originally published at POLITICAL HAZE.