Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett Has A Message For the Poor

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) had some not very nice things to say to the low-income residents of his state, namely that they're receiving too much free care and should instead be paying for it.

“What I hear all the time coming out of the administration in Washington is that it’s the working poor [who benefit from Medicaid],” Corbett told WTAE, a local ABC affiliate, on Saturday. “Yes it is working, but you should be investing five, ten dollars in co-pay to understand that you go to to the hospital or the doctors, you just can’t keep going and going and going and think everything is going to be covered. You have to know that you have some interest in what’s going on.”

Because everyone finds so much joy in "going and going and going" to the doctor, it couldn't be clearer that Pennsylvania's low-income residents are freeloaders exploiting the system.

Here's the real kicker: In Pennsylvania, many beneficiaries do pay part of the money for the services they receive — the patients who don't pay (i.e. the ones Gov. Corbett is talking about) currently include children, pregnant women, and breast cancer patients. Nice, Governor.

Pennsylvania Republicans have decided against expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, maintaining that covering more low-income residents would cost the state too much money. How inspiring.

Watch the clip below to hear Gov. Corbett's remarks.