States get aid Wednesday
Obama held a formal dinner with the nation's governors at the White House on Sunday. (Photo: acinablog.wordpress.com
Now that the economic stimulus package has passed, President Barack Obama is wasting no time sending quick loans to states to cover Medicaid.
Medicaid supplements medical costs for poor people who don’t get health insurance through their employers.
Wasting no time
Obama is very specific about when states will get their quick loans: Wednesday. Obama will release $15 billion that day to states that have shortfalls in their Medicaid coverage.
Obama says this money will help 20 million Americans keep their health coverage.
Oversight and transparency
Obama has called on Vice President Joe Biden to monitor how states are using the stimulus money. He is charged with ensuring that no money is wasted.
In effort to stay true to his promises of transparency, Obama created the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board. He appointed Chairman Earl Devaney, inspector general at the Interior Department.
Good examples
Some states have taken their own steps to ensure residents know how the stimulus money is being spent. Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts had a web site created that allows everyone to view how much stimulus money his state is getting and how it is being spent.
A few other states have launched similar web sites, and the White House has a web site with the same concept. Obama encouraged more states to follow suit.
Dinner table talk
At a formal dinner at the White House on Sunday night, Obama made some of his priorities clear in a speech.
The bottom line is, you still have to make sure that schools are open, that children are learning, that people who are falling on hard times are getting help, Obama said.
Spending and saving
(Photo: NY Daily News)
Even as Obama is sending out stimulus money, he is making public his plans to shrink the national debt. Obama plans to speak at a “fiscal responsibility summit” today, where 130 officials will discuss the long-term plans for dealing with the nation’s deficit.
States can expect their quick loans for Medicaid this week, but they can also expect cost-saving changes to come their way.
Medicare and Medicaid are two programs in need of serious overhaul, because they are going to go bankrupt before too long. I know that the part of the stimulus that is intended for those programs is going to get there quickly, but that’s putting a band aid over a bullet wound; something serious has to be done very soon.