EDITORIAL: To prevent maternal mortality, keep studying and take the Medicaid
A proposal to extend the task force until 2023 is the one bill that must pass this special session of the Legislature, other than the so-called sunset bill extending the lives of key state agencies that forced the session in the first place.
But there's more to do besides extending the task force if our governor and Legislature are more interested in saving lives than politicking. Dare we say it?
That's right: Swallow pride, sew on the nose that
We know how naive it sounds of us to suggest it. We are aware that obstructing the ACA is as automatic to our Republican leadership as breathing. This is, after all, the state that led the successful fight all the way to the
But there's no ignoring the dramatic turn of events of recent days. The
The effort to repeal, replace or repeal and replace the ACA is dead for now. That leaves the ACA and its Medicaid funding on the table.
Over how many dead bodies must Gov.
The evidence strongly suggests that throwing money at this problem could improve the situation dramatically. The spike in maternal mortality coincided with Republican-engineered cuts in women's health services. In 2011 the state cut its family planning budget by two-thirds, resulting in a reduction in entry-level health care services to low-income women.
Precious little has been said of the confluence of these events as the Legislature considers extending the maternal mortality task force. Task force members have been resistant to blaming the budget cuts. But, seriously, what did the budget-cutters expect?
Taking the Medicaid expansion could do much, quickly, to undo the harm. When previous Gov.
Lives could be saved, even if only temporarily until the incessantly claimed ACA implosion occurs or Medicaid no longer can be sustained, or both. Take the money now, because
In the meantime, the task force extension is a must. No one appears opposed. But no one was opposed during the regular session, either, when it fell victim to ugly political gamesmanship. It was among the hundred bills killed in a late parliamentary maneuver by a far-right 12-member group called the
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