Controversy swirls over Rehberg (R-MT) comment (MI Gov Granholm pissed)

[Ediacara]

Controversy swirls over Rehberg comment
By ALLISON FARRELL Missoulian State Bureau

HELENA - Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has asked Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., to apologize for comments the congressman made about Michigan's use of federal Medicaid dollars 10 years ago.

"Michigan built a football stadium with Medicaid dollars," Rehberg said in a Feb. 18 Missoulian State Bureau story. The congressman was criticizing loopholes that allow states to funnel federal Medicaid money into other programs.

While Rehberg's spokesman said the congressman stands by his statement, Granholm said Rehberg's comments are "grossly inaccurate."

"I would like to state for the record that Michigan's Medicaid program funding has never been used to fund any football stadium, but has been used to provide health care services to low-income, vulnerable citizens in our state," Granholm, a Democrat, wrote Wednesday in a letter to Rehberg.

More at the Missoulian

[whistle]

1. Republican Pig......

...Lies, innuendo, distortions, false accusations! Tools used by the conservative right to take the attention off the real issues and keep honest folk off-balance. Gov Granholm is a great public servant and this Rehberg twit should be made to eat from the same place his tongue licks when spouting the party line. :hurts:

[Duck90MPH]

4. True but do we know where the money went?

"In the mid-1990s, the Associated Press reported that congressional auditors found states using "illusory" - but legal - financing schemes to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional federal funds. Michigan, along with Tennessee and Texas, were cited in the article.

The Washington Post reported in 1994 that the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found the state of Michigan reclaiming all but $6 million of $489 million in Medicaid payments made to 53 Michigan hospitals."

The thugs are surly lying but where exactly DID the money go?

[salin]

5. If true, that would mean that Repub Gov Engler

- the darling of the right for his 'groundbreaking work' in 'changing welfare' (aka cutting social programs) found yet another way to cheat the poor while laughing to the bank.

[papau]

2. The GOP are great liars - but there is a medicaid "overpayment"

In the battle of rural areas against urban areas we have the Medicaid upper payment limit - and the GOP feel there is a loophole in that limit and the 2005 budget proposed by Bush closes that "loophole" - meaning Medicaid funds to the states are reduced by $1.5 billion.

But it is the right thing to cut those medicaid funds because otherwise the big urban States like Michigan and Texas could build a football statium - not that they have - the GOP are liars - but maybe they could.

Currently, states pay city- or county-owned health care facilities more than the actual cost of health services for Medicaid beneficiaries, receive extra matching funds from the federal government and require the facilities to return the extra payments. The states in some cases pay the facilities a small fee for their participation and use the extra federal funds for both health- and nonhealth-related programs.

Seems obvious that a cut in Medicaid funds will reduce services for Medicaid beneficiaries, since the States will not ask the county or private payers to make up the loss.

Heck this Congressman from Montana should read what the Senator from Montana say on this topic - Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) said that although many states use the loophole to help Medicaid beneficiaries, lawmakers must "make sure these Medicaid funds are managed in a fiscally responsible manner." - He did not say cut $1.5 billion.

But the States could - in theory - use the extra federal Medicaid matching funds for nonhealth-related programs.

So we have the media picking up Rep. Denny Rehberg's comment "Michigan built a football stadium with Medicaid dollars" - and not calling him a liar.

But I believe the media never calls GOP'ers liars - it is only Dems that have "credibility problems and flip-flops"

Our "we are not controlled by the right wing GOP" media - they just act like they are.

[Festivito]

3. Our Republican liars are better than MT's Republican liars.

Michigan just went through ten years of Republicans in Executive, state Senate, and state House. Granholm recently won executive governorship from being Attorney General. If this pipsqueak Montanian Republican thinks she's an easy mark, he's a worse fool than Montanians who voted for him.

Our Republicans held complete control through the entire Clinton economic expansion. They took credit for it. They started with prior years of balanced budgets and a rainy-day fund. They ended their reign having cut services, spent that fund, not balanced our budget for the first time in several decades, and implemented tax cuts that would start after they left office. Our past governor, nearly as fat as Spencer Abraham only shorter on height and charm with baby-fat that would make a vulture puke, quickly left to a large company and thankfully hasn't be heard from again.

Despite our Republicans being stupifyingly hypocrital spend-and-lie shady fools, they are still better than any Montanian sick-minded provincially-idiotic mendaciously-pedantic shamelessly-loudmouthed garrulous Republicans.

[saigon68]

6. CHIMPANZEE McSHRUB uses tax dollars to get re-elected

Example, the actual cost of flying Air Force One. Millions--he pays reimbursement of merely a couple thousand.

How's that for outrageous.

Almost as good as his thug running mate, who funneled money from the schools, to pay Halliburton to wage war, while lining his own pockets.

[Mari333]

7. GRRRRR Granholm wasnt in office then

It was that fat F*ck Engler (R Sleazebag)!! I cannot believe this moron can blame Granholm for any of the stuff that happened in the 90s and I hope Granholm tells him to shove a poker up his arse..Engler was the moron governor who was in office in the 90s and he was a mean spirited bastard...thank GOD he is out, he and his lobster dinners at taxpayers expense..
Thank god for Granholm, she wont take that shite! Let him have it Jennifer!