Hughes leans on generalizations in weighing Medicaid changes

In her May 12 session update to constituents, Palmer Sen. Shelley Hughes takes an age-old page from the political playbook of crass generalizations — this time it’s those Medicaid recipients in the state who she broadly thinks are lazy chiselers who don’t want to get ahead.

Sen. Hughes seems to back proposed federal cuts to the Medicaid program, which, if implemented on the scale currently considered in Congress, could lead to thousands in the state losing coverage and a detrimental economic ripple effect across the entire healthcare sector.

And while she rightly recognizes Medicaid as “a safety net for the vulnerable, those unable to work to be covered under private health insurance: the elderly, children, and those with disabilities,” Sen. Hughes also says some able-bodied Alaskans — most of whom qualified under the 2015 Affordable Care Act expansion — have made receiving Medicaid “a lifestyle for families, generation after generation.”

“Regarding those on Medicaid who do work, many employers here in Alaska have shared stories with me about capable employees rejecting raises and promotions to stay on Medicaid. This, my friends, is a perverse incentive that traps, not uplifts,” she writes, invoking an easy straw man without providing any empirical proof.

Instead, the individual reality for the working poor in this state is arguably more complex.

It’s a pretty broad brush stroke to say that someone who turns down a raise that lifts them just above the Medicaid income requirement is a lesser person or is part of what she calls a “moral crisis.” Whose morality? Perhaps they’re trying to avoid a costly private monthly insurance premium, annual deductibles and copays, medication expenses and the cost of travel to healthcare locations — all of which could possibly put even more of a drag on monthly finances.

It has almost become cliché — but unfortunately true — these days to say that someone can be “one health emergency away” from financial collapse or homelessness. Maybe staying on Medicaid has kept healthcare accessible, affordable and its Alaska recipients healthy and productive wage earners.

According to state figures, 240,871 individuals statewide are enrolled in Medicaid. I wonder if Sen. Hughes has heard from — or sought out — those in her district who have been “uplifted” by having the safety net of Medicaid? Where are those stories?

In the constituent update, Hughes also proposes: “We must provide a step-down transition-off-Medicaid paired with robust training options for Medicaid enrollees in the working-age category.”

Fair enough, if it leads to genuine wage growth, more accessible care and doesn’t leave recipients in a healthcare spiral. Ultimately, though, if cuts or some other type of restructuring and reform — like proposed work requirements — are to come from Washington, be honest, Senator — be a leader — with the affected Alaskans and prepare them. Don’t belittle and dismiss their individual choices to score easy political points.

Steven Merritt is a longtime Valley resident who lives in Palmer.