Friday, April 10, 2009

Nodler Touts Healthcare Expansion

NODLER: Senate Version Should Give House Conservatives Assurances
Senate Appropriations Chair Gary Nodler said a plan to expand health insurance coverage to 35,000 Missouri parents should give House Republicans the necessary assurances that new state money won't be needed to fund it.
Nodler spoke at a press conference with the Missouri Hospital Association Friday, to announce the Appropriations Committee's adoption of a planned aimed at reducing the uninsured.
The Senate's budget plan would extend eligibility from 20 percent of the poverty level to 50 percent of the poverty level. Hospitals would voluntarily provide the funding through an increase in the federal provider tax. It's estimated that 8,000 Southwest Missouri parents could take advantage of the program, including approximately 1,600 in Greene County.
The House did not increase eligibility in its own budget. Republicans said they were leery to approve an expansion without assurances that the funding stream would be there. Nodler explained that the Senate identified a separate funding line that would guarantee the program would not use general revenue.
"That feature, which is the coding of the funding source within the budget, that should give assurance to conservative legislators that there is not a downstream exposure or risk to a future demand on general revenue," Nodler said, when asked to explain the difference between the House and Senate plans.
*WATCH HIS FULL EXPLANATION ABOVE*
"The House's debate was exclusively on whether or not to include these eligibilities," Nodler said. "There was no discussion about . . . the funding source for this expansion."
ALSO: Dr. Larry Halverson of Cox: "For me, it seems like a no-brainer. It's a very small step. It's the lowest of the low income, the lowest of the low income who are parents, who have a job, at least 1 job, and are caring for their children, the future of Missouri."

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow!

I can't believe Nodler is as vainglorious as it appears. Oh wait, I can.

Here is a total politician at its worst taking credit for something he didnt do. Meanwhile if anyone with a disability gets in his way at a movie theater, all bets are off!

Give me a break.

TruthBtold said...

Charles must have a disability himself. He must be deaf. Nodler credits Senator Crowell with the idea for separating the funding source. Nodler put this in the Senate budget. He is taking credit for what he did, nothing more and nothing less. Charles also makes a comment about a movie theater, for those that do not know that reference, in 2005 Nodler left a movie theater that was being disrupted by a group of disabled adults and their caregivers. One of the caregivers alleged that Nodler made a comment to her about the noise. Nodler denied it and said that the caregiver had made comments to him and others as they left. Nodler later passed a lie detector test showing he was being truthful and the caregiver refused to take one. Four years later we still have these kinds of false accusations about Nodler circulating on the internet in blogs.

Unknown said...

Truth(I say that reluctantly), first of all being deaf is a serious condition and making a flipant remark like you did shows how you are biased, like Nodler, against people with disabilities.

I find it interesting that you go to great length to dispel this (which was reported widely) by bringing up a lie detector test. There is a reason why they are not widely used in court.

My question is: Why would he have to take one??? Me thinketh thou doth protest too much.

I know I know he was wrongly accused...or was it a set up conspiracy from all of the disabled people that you like to make fun of.

Please, I await your answer. I am sure it will be fascinating in his defense but that story has no weight in my opinion of Nodler.

I am sure he has tons of consultants working on his image and telling him what he needs to do for whatever next office he is running for. I have talked to him in Jefferson City, or rather was talked at, and that is why I dislike him. He has as much compassion as a rock about anybody other than himself.

TruthBtold said...

Charles,
Sorry but you are wrong again. I am not making fun of your deafness, just offering you an excuse, I don't know if you can not hear or will not listen. Lie detectors are widely used by the United States government and the military, employment agencies and yes by courts including criminal courts. The 9th circuit established the rules for their admittance. The wide reports you refer to are blog comments like yours without substantiation. The fact is that this false report was discredited long ago and following its circulation Nodler was re-elected in a landslide largely because of support from the disability community that he has so consistently supported. He led the effort for the mental health parity bill (long before you and others began circulating the false report). He led efforts to obtain Autism funding, he wrote the legislation establishing the guidelines and funding for certification of caregivers and is the sponsor of the bill extending provider funding. Charles your ignorance can be excused but your spreading false rumors cannot. Back to your first false accusation, Nodler took no credit for something he did not do, you falsely accused him on both counts, sounds like you talked to him in Jeff City and because he didn’t agree with you, you don’t like him, who is vainglorious????