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Ben Nelson asks South Carolina attorney general not to challenge the constitutionality of his healthcare kickback

January 2, 2010

  Senator Ben Nelson has sent a letter to the South Carolina Attorney General in which he asked him to “call off the dogs.” This is in response to the report that Henry McMaster is leading a charge by 13 attorneys general to challenge the constitutionality of the kickback that would exempt Nebraska from the increase in the cost of Medicare.

  Ben Nelson’s defense of this kickback is basically that he didn’t ask for it, it was just given to him by Harry Reid. Even so, that does not make it any less palatable to the rest of the states, which will be required to fork over the money that Nebraska will be exempted from paying.

  The reason that Ben Nelson is giving for asking the South Carolina attorney general to drop the challenge is that eventually all of the states will be given the same exemption.

“Senator Nelson said it would be ‘fixed’ by extending the Cornhusker Kickback (100% federal payment) on Medicaid to every state.”

  Forgive me for not quite understanding this. If all of the states are eventually exempted from paying the increase in Medicare costs, how the hell is the bill going to reduce the costs of healthcare to the American people? How is this not going to add to the federal deficit? Who is going to pay for this? And what is Ben Nelson so afraid of that he does not want the constitutionality of his kickback challenged?

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11 Comments leave one →
  1. Matt's avatar
    January 2, 2010 9:14 pm

    So, I think there is something rotten going on here. And I mean beyond the bribe, and beyond the fact that Nelson is asking folks not to fight it. It’s something behind the scenes, and it may have to do with extending the sweet deal to all states. We’ll have to see what sort of trickery is going on.

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  2. Deb's avatar
    Deb permalink
    January 2, 2010 10:22 pm

    I’m moving to Nebraska! (NOT)

    Like

  3. LD Jackson's avatar
    LD Jackson permalink
    January 3, 2010 6:09 am

    I agree with Matt. There is something rotten in Denmark.

    Seriously, you raise a good point. If the deal is extended to every state, who is going to pay the bill then? I think there is much more going on than we know about or are being told.

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  4. Steve Dennis's avatar
    January 3, 2010 8:17 am

    There is definately something going on here, I don’t know what it is but I don’t like it.

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  5. Ron Russell's avatar
    January 3, 2010 11:59 am

    “Rotten in Denmark” that smell is coming from the big turd the Democrats dropped in the senate. Ben Nelson by going along with the leadership has sh*t in his nest and is now trying to find a way out. The leadership cannot extent the Nebraska deal to the other 49 states, that would be a budget buster and they know it—Nelson knows it as well! It will be interesting to watch in the weeks ahead.

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    • Steve Dennis's avatar
      January 3, 2010 8:57 pm

      This is going to be interesting to watch it play out. Nelson and the Democrats may have stepped in that turd they dropped in the senate and now they are going to have to try to wipe it off.

      Like

  6. TexasFred's avatar
    January 3, 2010 3:08 pm

    Nelson knows, his payoff can’t stand the scrutiny of an in-depth investigation…

    Like

  7. rjjrdq's avatar
    January 3, 2010 4:38 pm

    How does Nelson presume to have the authority to make such a statement? This was one of the accounting gimmicks that kept this thing allegedly under a trillion $. If every state is exempt from Medicaid payments, this thing skyrockets.

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  8. Dominique's avatar
    January 5, 2010 12:42 am

    Uh? did you really believe that this wouldn’t add to the deficit!? I read an article today that stated with the numerous programs Obama and his ilk are going after, we could see 91% of our income going to taxes by 2030! 91%! Gag me! What I don’t get is why? Is this just about destroying the last great nation? Nothing else seem to make sense?

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    • Steve Dennis's avatar
      January 5, 2010 6:07 am

      There really seem to be people out there that believe Obama’s claim that this will be defecit neutral, I don’t know how they can actually believe it. Obama wants to fundamentally change America, and he is trying his best to do so.

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