A Political Leader Rejects the Safety Net That Saved His Family

Will Weatherford is a political name to remember, no matter where you live.

Weatherford is the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, a rising political star and a CPAC convention speaker this week, who “is widely regarded as a polished politician with excellent instincts,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.

I’m not so sure about those instincts.

In his opening speech of the new legislative session, Weatherford came out strongly in opposition to Medicaid expansion, saying it “crosses the line of the proper role of government.” He called Medicaid a “broken system.”  

But Weatherford wasn’t content to leave it at that.  He invoked a moving, personal narrative to introduce his opposition to the Medicaid expansion.

He told the tragic story of his young brother, who developed and died of cancer as an infant.  I can’t imagine what it was like for 15-year old Weatherford, his seven other siblings, or his parents to go through such a heart-wrenching experience.

And on top of it, Weatherford’s father was self-employed and couldn’t afford to insure his family.  I can relate.  I was also self-employed in the mid-1990s, and it cost me over $600 per month even then to insure my family. 

So when the six-figure hospital bills came, they could have wiped the Weatherfords out.

But they didn’t, because of a safety net that was in place.  “It was the safety net that picked my father up,” Weatherford said.  “It was the safety net that picked my family up.”

What Weatherford did not say was that the safety net was Medicaid. 

Afterwards, Weatherford denied that Medicaid paid the bills.  But after his father confirmed that it did, Weatherford was forced to back-track and acknowledge the role of Medicaid in his own family’s life.

This all happened in the mid-1990s. 

And, ironically, it seems that Weatherford’s family may have benefited from a Medicaid expansion that took place just a few years earlier.  That mandatory Medicaid expansion occurred in 1989, and covered children up to the age of 6 up to 133% of poverty.  It meant that Weatherford’s brother became eligible for Medicaid via its “medically needy” program once the family’s income dropped below approximately $44,000.

That Medicaid expansion had its legislative detractors, too.  I was in a state legislature then.  I remember speeches in which legislators argued against both the expansion and the “medically needy” program because they didn’t think middle class families like the Weatherfords should be taking advantage of the program.  And U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Jesse Helms both recorded votes in opposition to the OBRA 1989 law that helped the Weatherfords. 

Maybe Weatherford is unaware of that history. 

But whether or not Weatherford is aware of history doesn’t change it.  Medicaid was only available for his baby brother because of federal expansions of the program that took place years before. 

And it became available to other children because of subsequent expansions. 

But it will only be available to their parents and older siblings if he supports this expansion.

Like Will Weatherford’s family, my family has benefitted from the Medicaid program.  During her final illness, my mother received Medicaid benefits through a special program in Connecticut so that she could remain in her own home and not have to enter a nursing home.  I have no doubt that this program extended her life.  I know that it improved its quality.

And my son, who has suffered from a life-threatening chronic disease for over twenty years now – one that cost him his education, his ability to work, and even his ability to live independently – has also used Medicaid as his safety net.

So here’s what bothers me most about Weatherford’s position.

It isn’t that we disagree about the safety net.  In fact, we are both openly grateful for what the federal safety net program called Medicaid did for our own families.

It is that his instincts failed him when he took for granted the political courage that it took to expand Medicaid in 1989 to help his family.  And they failed him again when he cavalierly dismissed the expansion today as if helping other families in need were all just a waste.  

He has a duty to see the bigger picture.   

He can start by embracing the program that embraced his brother.

To reach Paul Gionfriddo via email: gionfriddopaul@gmail.com.  Twitter: @pgionfriddo.  Facebook: www.facebook.com/paul.gionfriddo.  LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/paulgionfriddo/