Gov. Blunt Did the Right Thing

A letter to the editor in yesterday’s Columbia Tribune claims Gov. Blunt needs to repent for cutting Medicaid:

With a reported $320 million surplus in our state budget, it’s time for
Gov. Matt Blunt to repent for his sins against the disabled, elderly
and low-income citizens of Missouri and right this terrible wrong.

In 2005, Missouri faced a growing budget deficit and a Medicaid system that was costing far more than it should. The state couldn’t bust its budget or sacrifice transportation, schools, and other essential things in order to cover Medicaid expenditures. Just because Missouri now has a surplus is no reason for the state to fall into the same trap that caused the deficit in the first place. Fiscal solvency doesn’t last if we squander every windfall on programs that aren’t sustainable.

Only by opening up the health care market and moving away from the third-party providers that raise prices for everybody can we provide quality health care for all. The solution lies not in the bureaucracy and centralized control of government, but in the efficiency and accountability of the private sector.