​The State Of Medicaid And Human Services: We All Can Agree That Efficiency and Transparency Are Excellent Goals, But Who and What Is Cut

Checks and balances that seem to slow down the delivery of services are there to protect our tax dollars. We do not want them to be wasted or doled out by fraud. On the other hand, we as taxpayers should not be waiting months for services like Social Security, Medicare and Veterans benefits that we paid for and depend on.

I have had a direct experience sadly within the past year, trying to get benefits from the VA for our mother. Our Dad was in WWII. He served in the Navy on a hospital ship. She was due to a reimbursement for her out of pocket cost for nursing care. I had submitted an application over a year ago for her that was rejected for more information. It was resubmitted and the benefits were still not paid. I am sure I am not the only person that has come across this type of problem.

DOGE seems like a worthy attempt to clean up abuse and create efficiency. The issue is how they are going about it. Even with technology, you need human resources to work in departments. Disrupting the workflow with firing employees without technology improvement in place will only create more hardships for individuals dependent on these resources. As Congress works on a budget, we are already seeing across the board outcries from both Republican and Democrat individuals to preserve our social nets.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors held our recent leadership meeting. Our Executive Board and all committee chairs review the changes taking place. Medicare was one of the topics that was discussed. As municipal leaders we do not directly manage Medicare, which is a national and state function. It does, however, directly impact all of our constituents. We passed a joint letter to Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Thune, Minority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader Jeffries, urging them to strengthen Medicare and not cut this vital program. The National State Legislators, The Council for State Governments, National Association of Counties, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities and The International City County Management Association, all signed on to protect Medicare.

Medicare does not simply provide health insurance to seventy-nine million Americans, it impacts all areas of healthcare, including hospitals.

Another issue that is now being implemented is the increase of tariffs on Mexico and Canada. I think all of us realize that Mexico has created issues with illegal immigration and illegal drugs. We all were caught off guard with the Canadian Tariff plan. Illegal drugs are being shipped to Canada and are finding their way to the United States.

Our partnership with Canada is the largest Bilateral trading relationship in the world. $2.5 Billion dollars cross the border daily. Eight million jobs in the U.S. are tied to the Canadian trade industry. There are thirty-six states with Canada as their top exporters and Florida is one of them. Florida exports over $5.2 Billion to Canada including these top three agricultural, chemicals and equipment/ machinery. So, when tariffs go up, it will not just impact on the cost of what is imported but will affect what goods and services that are exported out of our state.

The other top concern of all Mayors was ICE. Florida was already at the forefront of this issue with our Governor trying to implement far-reaching laws that would impact our local Law Enforcement. It needs to be made noticeably clear that city Law Enforcement enforces all the laws. If they find a person is here illegally, they take them to the county. The county is tasked with jailing all criminals. They work directly with ICE by notifying their agents and undocumented immigrants that are in their custody.

The issue arises with our officers being taken off the road to enforce national immigration law. To date, we have not been approached by ICE to help them. If we are, it means less officers to protect our community, when it comes to Public Safety. Our officers are not directly trained to perform immigration enforcement. Taking officers off their regular duties for training also has an adverse effect on Public Safety.

The Acting Deputy Director of US ICE Kenneth Genalo, attended our meeting and shared an update of their activity. We were all informed that they were and continue to target specific undocumented immigrants. Their main targets are known criminals that include murderers, violent offenders’, gangs and drug related crimes. They have no intention of targeting churches, schools, or hospitals. If they are aware of a criminal at any of these locations, they are required by law to work directly with local agencies, in ensuring innocent civilians are not placed in harm's way. We are all now waiting to see what their next steps are.

The Police Athletic League of Hallandale Beach, announced the 2nd Annual One Hallandale Beach Family Fun Field Day. PAL Hallandale Beach is a national organization that police departments in different cities across the country implement to foster a greater connection between Law Enforcement, cities and communities through recreational sports. The event features a robust Resource Fair, entertainment, field games, prizes, food and much more on April 5th, 2025 at 10:00 a.m., in Hallandale Beach at O.B. Johnson Park 1000 Northwest 8th Avenue, Hallandale Beach, Florida 33009, the event is free.

As always, I am available anytime for your questions, concerns and ideas to make our City a better place on my Phone/Text at: (954) 632-5700. Or you can email me at: jcooper@cohb.org.

Please visit me on my Facebook page at Mayor Joy Cooper. Like! Follow! And Share!