Kerry A. Willis: Unbroken Medicaid

As a physician who cares for patients from all walks of life, I feel that caring for the poor is a responsibility in our society. I participate in the Carolina Access and Medicaid program, which does have some problems and is in need of some updating and improving to create savings that could be used to better deliver services.

That said, I have been following the current debate in the legislature and reading and learning about the budget problems and Medicaid reform efforts.

It’s very apparent that the Medicaid program was financially raided by Democrats and a huge deficit occurred. The deficit has been used to justify a call for reform by Republicans, who can’t agree on what shape the reform should take. Along the way of the debate, the program has run a surplus for two years.

Why do we need to fix what isn’t broken? The state Senate calls for creating a Cabinet-level Medicaid department with more employees dedicated just to that program. Really?

As a Republican, I voted for less government and less spending. When does that start?

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Kerry A. Willis: Unbroken Medicaid."