Republican Medicaid hypocrisy, in one wheelchair-bound legislator

(Image credit: JOHN MOORE/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

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.

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Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.