GOP Senate Candidate Rob Simmons Says Unemployed Workers Should Seek Government Health Insurance
GOP Senate Candidate Rob Simmons Says Unemployed Workers Should Seek Government Health Insurance
On Saturday, DoingItLocal.com’s David Smith interviewed former Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT), a candidate for the Senate in 2010. Simmons, who is facing a crowded primary for the Republican nomination, has lurched to the far right to accommodate his party’s tea party base. He has renounced his support for progressive policies like cap-and-trade and the Employee Free Choice Act, and now proudly displays an actual tea bag tucked away in his copy of the Constitution.
Most recently, Simmons has tacked to the right on health reform as well. He attacked current legislation as a “government takeover” and denounced government interference in health care as placing “bureaucrats between patients and doctors.” But during his interview with Smith, Simmons went off his conservative script, stating that unemployed workers should seek the government-sponsored program of Medicaid:
SMITH: One of the aspects of the economy that is taking a very serious toll on families is of course healthcare. When people lose jobs, typically they lose they lose their health care. […] What do you suggest, what kind of answers do you have for people who are facing the all too real, daunting situation of not having health care?
SIMMONS: Well back in my part of the state and I know throughout the state you have community health centers or clinics that are available. Obviously if you lose your job and you fall within the income limits, you are eligible to sign up for Medicaid. There are other low cost options available but we really have to make sure is that people have the information they need so they can sign up for a plan that’s going to work for them. [...] I am sympathetic to those confronted with the loss of healthcare. I would urge people to get in contact with their member of Congress to learn about the options available.
Watch it:
Simmons appears to be advocating a government-provided backstop health care option for unemployed people. Will Simmons face censure now that he appears to be violating yet another provision of the Republican Party Purity Pledge? If you ask Simmons’ prospective GOP colleagues, like Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Medicaid is an abhorrent “medical ghetto.”
In reality, Medicaid is “cost-effective compared to private health insurance” and 74% of Americans, according to a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation poll, consider it a very important program. The program protects low-income Americans from uncontrollable out-of-pocket costs charged by private insurers and also “covers services not usually covered in private health insurance.” Under the Senate health bill, “most nonelderly people with income below 133 percent of the [federal poverty line] would be made eligible for Medicaid” starting in 2014.
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Repug loves himself some of that government health care. These clowns never cease to amaze me.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:02 pmUh-oh! A GOoPer telling people to go out and get them some of that SOCIALIST FASCIST HEALTHCARE????
OH NOOOOOOOOES!!!! What a commie!!
November 30th, 2009 at 6:09 pmSimmons: Obviously if you lose your job and you fall within the income limits, you are eligible to sign up for Medicaid. There are other low cost options available but we really have to make sure is that people have the information they need so they can sign up for a plan that’s going to work for them.
Um, Mr. Simmons…?
It’s not INFORMATION that’s lacking. it’s actual affordable plans that don’t exist.
All the information in the world isn’t going to cover people if they can’t afford what private insurers are willing to provide.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:16 pmMy employer will be watching this primary very closely and will not hesitate to go Purge Encore.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:24 pmApology to the Rush’s Assboil in 5, 4, 3…..
November 30th, 2009 at 6:25 pmLet’s all do our best to see that Representative Goober here is in the ranks of the unemployed following the next election.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:26 pmNo, no, no….low income is not the only eligibility component of Medicaid currently. Families with children, disabled children over 18 and their care givers, etc. can be covered but not all states have it. And if a person or a family has assets, these are part of the mix. Not that easy.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:27 pmThere are other low cost options available but we really have to make sure is that people have the information they need so they can sign up for a plan that’s going to work for them.
Die quickly…
November 30th, 2009 at 6:28 pmNot true! If you’re making $50,000/year, then lose your job….Medicaid will take your current financial situation into account and it’s very possible the person has made too much for the year (even with unemployment wages being less!) and WILL NOT QUALIFY.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:29 pmMy developmentally disabled adult daughter is on Medicaid, and you cannot have > $2,000 in assets to qualify.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:29 pmThat’s INDIGENT…
I know this was the thrust of TP’s report, but I find it interesting that Mr. Simmons acknowledges that government programs have a role to play in providing access to health care for the less fortunate among us…
He doesn’t seem to realize it, but that’s exactly what he’s doing.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:32 pmGovernment health care programs should be cut for everyone except republican senators.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:35 pmAs many have pointed out here, there is not always a government program to fall back on.
It just shows how little these clowns know about how these programs work.
Why should we trust them to tell us why they won’t work?
November 30th, 2009 at 6:37 pmRUCerious says:
My developmentally disabled adult daughter is on Medicaid, and you cannot have > $2,000 in assets to qualify.
That’s INDIGENT…
November 30th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
So all you need to be rejected by Medicare is a clunker car and a few possessions. Geez…
November 30th, 2009 at 6:37 pmYou’re killing me! Stop it. LOL
November 30th, 2009 at 6:40 pm“Should Seek Government Health Insurance”?
The GOP is going to eat him alive.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:43 pmThis is consistent advice to give along with my party’s newfound concern for protecting medicare.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:47 pmRon Simmons is taking lib advice from his brother, Richard.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:48 pmI love my vote down baby.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:49 pmI have a better idea Rep Simmons. Why don’t we just expand Medicare to everyone and then we don’t have a problem. Since you think Medicaid is good for people that are unemployed, Medicare for all should seem even better.
Before anyone thinks that I’m bashing Medicaid, I’m not. I have several friends that are on Medicaid and they wouldn’t be alive without it. I just think that the best solution would be to extend Medicare to everyone, and then for the people that can’t afford the co-pays and deductibles, Medicaid would fill the gap, just like the current crop of Medicare tie-in plans do with senior citizens today. I think it would also lower the cost of providing Medicaid since the it would be easy to say “if Medicare approves the treatment, then so will Medicaid”.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:51 pmI bet our vote down baby wets his pants thinking he is so smart and cute.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:51 pmMedicaid is REALLY hard to qualify for if you are just a working person who lost their job. What’s worse is that if you manage to get any kind of income, even a part time job, you do not qualify.
This guy obviously does not know anyone on Medicaid.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:52 pmThe little guy should be rejected from a government program if a bread crumb is found on his counter.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:52 pmYo vote down baby. Do I need to start talking shit about your mamma and sisters? Come on what sort of pussy are you?
November 30th, 2009 at 6:53 pmThey vote down because they can’t process the facts and draw illogical conclusions. I vote up because I love facts and conclusions based on logic.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:54 pmdbadass says:
Yo vote down baby. Do I need to start talking shit about your mamma and sisters? Come on what sort of pussy are you?
You would have to fish them out of the bowl before you could talk about them ;)
November 30th, 2009 at 6:55 pm“My friends!”, I qualify for 10 government programs.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:55 pmNow you just need 8 more. Let’s go loser show me you can do it….
November 30th, 2009 at 6:56 pmI think we have two VDBs on the loose. I’ve never seen db at (-2).
November 30th, 2009 at 6:57 pmWhat kind of convictions can a person have if they even lack the nerve to state them. We all realize that this crap is about nothing but attention but still can’t you at least pretend to have a values system?
November 30th, 2009 at 6:57 pmMommy is so proud of her little vote down baby, he’s learned how to use one key on the computer.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:58 pmI’ve never seen db at (-2).
November 30th, 2009 at 6:58 pm–
It is because I implied a less than sensitive attitude toward the XX’s which of course isn’t the case…
We knew it! It’s about time one of you nimrods fessed up to us. LOL
November 30th, 2009 at 7:01 pmdbadass says:
I’ve never seen db at (-2).
–
It is because I implied a less than sensitive attitude toward the XX’s which of course isn’t the case…
You were actually at -3 when I gave you a vote up, so I think you are right.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:03 pmI am a f ucking nimrod. No joke.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:04 pm“Proudly displays an actual tea bag tucked away in his copy of the constitution”. Automatic asshood!
November 30th, 2009 at 7:06 pmI qualify for 10,0000 government programs.
But they should be all for me and none for you. Conservatism, as in, conserve for ME.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:06 pm34:
November 30th, 2009 at 7:06 pmHypersensitivity sometimes blinds us…
What the GOP REALLY means … says:
I am a f ucking nimrod. No joke.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
With that kind of self-awareness, you’re dangerously close to becoming a liberal. ;)
November 30th, 2009 at 7:06 pmSo vote down baby I have this idea. Do you wanna hear about it? It is a great opportunity for you to achieve the attention you so seek without looking like a total pitiful loser. There is just one little catch. What do you say? Shall we discuss it?
November 30th, 2009 at 7:08 pmApparently, the ex-Congresscritter and would-be Senator is completely unaware of the fact that a significant percentage of the layoffs over the past year have been among white-collar professionals…most of whom have too much in assets to qualify for Medicaid yet don’t have enough to afford health insurance on their own (which can be very expensive and is becoming more costly all the time). The fact that Smith doesn’t seem to know about COBRA or what it is for — mainly, making it possible for someone to maintain their employee-sponsored health insurance coverage for a period of time after being laid off — is also somewhat surprising to me (although given that Smith is a member of the GOP, perhaps it shouldn’t be). In any case, speaking as someone who unfortunately found COBRA prohibitively expensive to maintain after being laid off, someone who can’t afford COBRA probably can’t afford other insurance coverage either — and even if they can, a pre-existing condition might still make it difficult for the person to get coverage (and it’s amazing what some insurance companies are conveniently choosing to regard as pre-existing conditions these days!)
Clearly, Smith is a chucklehead.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:08 pmI support the candidacy of Linda McMahon. She has the capability to be the Sgt. Slaughter-at-Arms of the Senate!
HA!
Get it?
Or, she will deliver the People’s Elbow on the floor!
Me funny?
November 30th, 2009 at 7:10 pmAt least the vote down baby could give me some props for giving them an identity by dubbing them the vote down baby which seems to have caught on. I mean for real vote down baby I am on you side. I love weirdo attention seeking misfits. Those folks are my bread and butter…
November 30th, 2009 at 7:10 pmBluestocking says:
Clearly, Smith is a chucklehead.
I have a different word for it, but you are close :)
November 30th, 2009 at 7:11 pmZooey says:
What the GOP REALLY means … says:
With that kind of self-awareness, you’re dangerously close to becoming a liberal. ;)
*crappy parody troll’s face turns white*
Does that mean I should talk to my doctor about something other than those wanker pills for a change?
November 30th, 2009 at 7:13 pmSo what do you all think would happen if we just ignored the vote down baby’s one little negative whimpering cry?
November 30th, 2009 at 7:20 pmWhat the GOP REALLY means … says:
*crappy parody troll’s face turns white*
Does that mean I should talk to my doctor about something other than those wanker pills for a change?
November 30th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Prolly.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:33 pmrob simmons used to be my congressman before joe courtney ousted his ass. the last time i saw rob, he was speaking at the last teabagging terrorist party on the norwichtown green in front of the memorial for the civil war dead. that should tell you a little something about his credibility.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:37 pmdbadass says:
So what do you all think would happen if we just ignored the vote down baby’s one little negative whimpering cry?
I think the troll wouldn’t be getting any attention at all. It’s not as if there’s ever any result from the votes — except when someone here points them out.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:41 pmdbadass says:
So what do you all think would happen if we just ignored the vote down baby’s one little negative whimpering cry?
November 30th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
It would keep voting us down, and we’d keep reversing it — and it would get less attention.
Works for me.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:44 pmSimmons is doing what a lot of other Republicans are doing–move further to the right for the primaries. The problem with that strategy is that it will come back on them when they try to move to the center during the general election. Some Republicans will regret moving further right because their districts are not that solidly right wing and they will lose independents. This is just part of the destruction of the Republican national party that is ongoing because of the teabaggers. This is good for the Dems if they can capitalize on the stumbling Republicans.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:07 pmNot really. Medicaid under pays even worse than Medicare. The balance is cost-shifted to the rest of us. No medical provider can accept Medicaid payments and pay their bills without this cost shifting or other revenue.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:13 pm…and now proudly displays an actual tea bag tucked away in his copy of the Constitution.
Isn’t the tea bag the current symbol of “revolution”? How is carrying a tea bag in your copy of the Constitution consistent with your oath to support and defend the Constitution?
November 30th, 2009 at 8:21 pmWayne A. Schneider says:
Isn’t the tea bag the current symbol of “revolution”? How is carrying a tea bag in your copy of the Constitution consistent with your oath to support and defend the Constitution?
November 30th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Don’t confuse the issue with facts, Wayne.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:41 pmpags2 says:
Simmons is doing what a lot of other Republicans are doing–move further to the right for the primaries. The problem with that strategy is that it will come back on them when they try to move to the center during the general election. Some Republicans will regret moving further right because their districts are not that solidly right wing and they will lose independents. This is just part of the destruction of the Republican national party that is ongoing because of the teabaggers. This is good for the Dems if they can capitalize on the stumbling Republicans.
But the Democrats can only capitalize on it IF they stop behaving like Republicans and actually give the independents a clear choice.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:57 pmMovement conservatism…Perhaps that’s why the movement is shouting down people whom they disagree at these tea parties…It’s all about the flexibility of their thinking…They’re so open-minded that they’re shouting to drown their opponents out…oh wait, that doesn’t sound right…
November 30th, 2009 at 11:30 pmThe History Express is about to leave the station!
Let me guess, your corporate masters will have First Class while you teabaggers get the caboose…
December 1st, 2009 at 12:37 amOk something is wrong I’m getting social security but I’m to young to get medicaid. Is there something in the air or are all the GOP people crazy? Everytime some one speaks something stupid comes out of their mouth.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:59 amMY GOParty of No senator actually told me that I should sign up for Medicaid when I went in to talk to him about the public option. Wouldn’t that make Medicaid the “bastard” Public Option?
December 1st, 2009 at 10:42 amUh, having a disabled sibling, I well know now that you can’t get Medicaid until you have used up virtually all of your financial resources.
So if, say, a union steel worker with house and family looses their job, they have to have an income tax year of virtually no income and all almost all their savings and possessions have to be used up first.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:14 pmWhat is so wrong about being flexible in your thinking? It’s one of the aspects of movement conservatism that makes it the political ideal of the new millennium.
Movement conservatism is about flexible thinking? Where the hell do you get your facts? Movement conservatives are so dedicated to their “movement” that they refuse to think any differently than they already do. They are, perhaps, the most inflexible of thinkers. In a society with so much financial and social inequality, movement conservatism would be its death knell.
People who believe in movement conservatism are not people who believe in helping their fellow human beings when they are down. Instead, they look for some excuse to blame the person needing help.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:56 pm