FGA’s Greatest Hits – February 2017
- BY FGA
February has been a whirlwind of activity for our team at FGA!
We began the month fresh out of Congressional testimony, exposing the devastating impact welfare fraud, waste, and abuse has on the truly needy. Our team spent countless hours meeting with key members of the new administration in D.C., educating them on the necessities of including our reforms in their priorities. That work was detailed in several national news pieces.
In addition, state legislative sessions have begun – and our reforms are making a mark with many of our solutions being filed and passed. You can read more details below on one of our solutions, the Medicaid expansion enrollment freeze, being proposed by Rep. Josh Miller in Arkansas.
Finally, we just closed the month with a strong presence at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in D.C. where we had the opportunity to host a private event with more than twenty of the top health care, welfare, and regulatory reform reporters in attendance, ensuring our ideals are at the forefront of the conversation.
Please take a few moments to review just a few of the exciting impacts we’ve had in the month of February.
Proving that FREEDOM TO PROSPER works!
Why would any government stand in the way of people moving from welfare to work? This month we unveiled our first Freedom to Prosper research, showing exactly what happened when the state of Florida reduced restrictive licensing requirements and regulatory burdens. Here’s a preview: since December 2011, Florida’s private-sector job growth has outpaced that of the rest of the United States. Florida added over 1 million private-sector jobs!
You can read the rest of the good news in the full version of our Freedom to Prosper research here.
FGA leading the way on a Medicaid expansion enrollment FREEZE.
This month we saw more movement on an idea we’ve been sharing for more than two years—freezing enrollment in Medicaid expansion. Arkansas Representative Josh Miller filed legislation to freeze enrollment after Arkansas’ version of ObamaCare expansion cost twice as much as what traditional Medicaid expansion would have and the movement didn’t stop in Arkansas – It is now picking up steam on the federal level with the house GOP floating the same idea as explained in this The Hill article.
The Wall Street Journal also praised the idea, explaining, “The Foundation for Government Accountability has proposed a temporary enrollment freeze for new Medicaid, which is a shrewd idea. No new applications for the expansion would be approved, and gradually enrollment would fall as people naturally move up the income ladder and qualify out. The goal isn’t to strip people from the rolls but to ensure that fewer people need to be dependent on government.”
FGA’s CEO shares the exciting reform proposals from Gov. Walker.
FGA’s CEO and president Tarren Bragdon explained exciting new welfare reforms proposed by Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin in the Washington Examiner, saying: “Walker’s reforms would counteract a wave of increased dependency and poverty. These work requirements would reinforce the idea that, to interrupt the generational cycle of poverty, able-bodied parents need to model work and not dependence.”
To read Tarren’s full article please click here.
