Republican Medicaid hypocrisy, in one wheelchair-bound legislator
JOHN MOORE/Getty Images


Over at Talking Points Memo, Dylan Scott takes a look at one Josh Miller, an Arkansas state representative who likely would be dead if not for Medicaid:
More than a decade ago, Arkansas Rep. Josh Miller (R) was in a catastrophic car accident that broke his neck and left him paralyzed. Medicare and Medicaid paid the $1 million bill for his hospitalization and rehabilitation. But this week, as the Arkansas legislature has debated continuing its privatized Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, Miller has remained steadfast in his opposition.
The Arkansas Times highlighted the contrast in a Thursday report...The Times asked Miller, 33, about this apparent contradiction: Shouldn't someone who has experienced the benefits of health insurance, including insurance paid for by the government, understand the importance of expanding those benefits to others? [Talking Points Memo]
Apparently not:
The difference, he said, is that some of the 100,000 people who have gained coverage through Arkansas' Medicaid expansion don't work hard enough or just want access to the program so they can purchase and abuse prescription drugs. [Talking Points Memo]
Well, case closed! The good news, though, is that this bodes well for the future of the ObamaCare Medicaid expansion. As Rep. Miller shows, once they settle in, social insurance programs tend to become extremely popular and secure.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A volcano stirs, a deathly flower blooms, and more
-
Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years – a 'beautiful and raw' exhibition
The Week Recommends This superb career retrospective in Edinburgh brings together more than 200 works from the misunderstood artist
-
Merryn Somerset Webb chooses five books on how the world works
The Week Recommends The financial columnist picks works by Peter Turchin, Adam Smith and Christopher Clark
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting vote
Speed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
-
Trump criticized for firing BLS chief after jobs report
Speed Read Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer oversaw a July jobs report that the president claims was rigged
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks