Announces his sentiments on ballot proposal
State Rep. Paul Opsommer announced today his sentiment that the home help ballot proposal would go down in flames as voters learned the whole truth behind the effort to hijack a successful and existing Medicaid program.
“Imagine how outraged you would be if the government was sending you Medicaid money to take care of your disabled parent at home, and suddenly the amount of money in that check was reduced for no reason except for the greed of others,” said Opsommer. “In my opinion that is what the Service Employee’s International Union (SEIU) is trying to put into the Constitution with this proposal, a constitutional right to benefit off of the poor health of others.”
Opsommer said that the supporters of the proposal are resorting to outright lies to try to justify how they want to twist the existing Home Help Program for their own purposes.
“Let’s make one thing abundantly clear,” said Opsommer. “This ballot proposal has nothing to do with creating a home help care program to keep people out of nursing homes. That program is already in existence, and gives many people an option to stay in familiar surroundings with loved ones. What this ballot proposal is instead about is the SEIU trying to hijack the federal Home Help Program, twisting it for its own purposes, and then milking it for everything it can”.
Opsommer said that the existing Home Help Program makes Medicaid money available to people if they are willing to take care of disabled or elderly loved ones in their homes. The SEIU wants to treat these disabled people as some kind of government employee so that dues can be automatically deducted from the Medicaid checks before they receive them, meaning less money is available for their care. National headlines put the shady practice in jeopardy after over $30 million dollars in false dues was diverted away from the people it was intended for.
“The SEIU is trying to protect their cash cow by putting the dues into the Constitution, and by doing so would take an existing win-win program that benefits both taxpayers and the disabled and turn it instead into an opportunity to fill their coffers for their own purposes,” said Opsommer. “In my opinion this is a shameful pick-pocket attempt by the SEIU that takes money directly away from the elderly, the vulnerable, and the disabled”.
Opsommer said early this year that constituents in his district had received phone calls from people saying they were with the SEIU, who incorrectly told participants in the Home Help Program that their loved ones would have to go into a nursing home if the dues process was not protected. Opsommer said he has tried to contact the SEIU time and time again to discuss the issue, but has been unable to get his phone calls or letters answered after multiple attempts.
“It appears that the very people who are taking money away from these vulnerable citizens are now trying to scare them with false allegations of being kicked out of their homes,” said Opsommer. “Not only can these people still stay in their homes, not only can they still receive Medicaid money from the Home Help Program, but they’ll be able to keep more money in their pockets if this ballot proposal goes down. I’m confident that voters will see through these scare tactics and vote a resounding ‘no’ on the SEIU’s efforts to hijack this successful program.”