Oh, this is rich
The Michigan Republicans have found a way to solve the problem of “indigent and needy individuals or individuals in medically underserved areas of the State”.
Is it by offering financial assistance to people without health care? – NO
Is it by creating new programs to serve people without health care? – NO
Is it by expanding existing programs to serve people without health care? – NO
Their answer — I swear I am not making this up — is to create a special “volunteer license” for retired nurses so that they can provide health care to “indigent and needy individuals or individuals in medically underserved areas of the State” FOR FREE!!!
Problem solved!
I’m not kidding. Here’s the graphic from their Facebook post about it:
The new law is Public Act 171, introduced as House Bill 4156 last January by Republican Phil Potvin. According to the Senate Fiscal Agency analysis, here’s what it does:
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to expand the individuals allowed to obtain a special volunteer license for the care and treatment of indigent and needy individuals or individuals in medically underserved areas. Currently, an individual who is retired from the active practice of medicine, optometry, or dentistry, and who wishes to donate his or her expertise for the care and treatment of indigent and needy individuals or individuals in medically underserved areas of the State, may obtain a special volunteer license to practice. The bill would extend this to anyone who was retired from the active practice of a health profession for which an individual must be licensed, registered, or otherwise authorized under Article 15 (Occupations) to practice in Michigan.
But that’s not all! If these retirees agree to volunteer their services — services that the state government should be providing as part of the taxes we pay our entire lives — they can’t be sued if something they do harms or kills the “indigent or needy individual”.
It’s perfect: retirees who are now seeing their pensions taxed thanks to the Republicans can give away free health care to “indigent and needy individuals” and the Republicans don’t have to lift a finger to help. They don’t have to allocate funds. They don’t have to mess around with any health care legislation. They don’t have to create or expand any programs. They just let the retirees fix their problem for them for no pay.
And then they brag about giving them the “freedom to volunteer”.
Heck, they aren’t even going to charge them for these “volunteer licenses”, that’s how benevolent they are!
This is the same group that couldn’t be arsed to pass Medicaid expansion with immediate effect so that working poor Michiganders could benefit from it three months earlier. How is it that these soulless cretins got control of our fine state? That’s what I want to know.
