Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GOP's Politically Volatile Move To Cut Medicaid Spending Would Impact Consumers, States
Republicans in full control of government are on the brink of history-making changes to the nation's health care system. The impact for consumers would go well beyond "Obamacare." Former President Barack Obama's signature law is usually associated with subsidized insurance markets like HealthCare.gov. But the Affordable Care Act also expanded Medicaid. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/23)
One of the biggest flash points in the debate over Republican legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is the future of Medicaid. Here are some basic facts about the 52-year-old program. (Goodnough and Zernike, 6/23)
As health-care companies parse Senate Republicans鈥 bill to undo the Affordable Care Act, a rift is emerging in the hospital industry over a provision that would award additional funds聽in states聽that didn鈥檛 expand Medicaid. The split centers around cuts the Affordable Care Act made to Medicaid subsidies known as 鈥渄isproportionate share鈥 payments, for hospitals that care for a large share of uninsured patients. Hospitals wouldn鈥檛 need the subsidies as more Americans gained insurance coverage, ACA policymakers believed. (Evans, 6/25)
The Senate Republican health-care bill would achieve a historic convergence of GOP priorities, placing major, permanent caps on Medicaid spending and providing a significant tax cut for wealthy Americans. President Trump and congressional Republicans describe the legislation as fulfilling their promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, but key provisions are also aimed at making progress on the GOP鈥檚 long-held goal of cutting entitlement spending. (Paletta, 6/23)
A handful of GOP governors opposed to their party鈥檚 proposals to overhaul Medicaid could potentially kill Mitch McConnell鈥檚 effort to repeal Obamacare. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican moderate who has hammered the repeal efforts for months, helped to deliver Sen. Dean Heller to the 鈥渘o鈥 column Friday. He stood next to Heller in the governor鈥檚 conference room in Las Vegas as the Nevada Republican announced he could not vote for the Senate repeal plan as written. (Pradhan, 6/24)
Health insurers criticized the steep cuts to Medicaid proposed in the Senate bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as 鈥渢oo much, too fast. 鈥滱fter hospital, doctors and advocacy groups lambasted the proposal released Thursday, the health insurance industry鈥檚 main Washington lobby said it鈥檚 concerned about its impact on states鈥 finances and low-income Americans. The end to funding for Obamacare鈥檚 expansion of Medicaid and a move to cap how much the federal government spends on the state-federal health program for the poor could harm state budgets and program beneficiaries, according to America鈥檚 Health Insurance Plans. (Tracer, 6/23)
Lingering resentment over the health care replacement legislation dominated conversation at the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on funding the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health centers. ... While CHIP has traditionally been a bipartisan effort, Democrats and Republicans exchanged jabs over how funding for the program could proceed without addressing funding for Medicaid, the federal and state program that pays for half of the births in the United States as part of its broad mission. Both the House health care bill (HR 1628) and Senate draft bill propose capping Medicaid funding for the first time since its creation in 1965. (Raman, 6/23)
Alice Jacobs, 90, once owned a factory and horses. She raised four children and buried two husbands. But years in an assisted living facility drained her savings, and now she relies on Medicaid to pay for her care at Dogwood Village, a nonprofit, county-owned nursing home here. 鈥淵ou think you鈥檝e got enough money to last all your life, and here I am,鈥 Jacobs said. (Rau, 6/26)
The Senate GOP health care bill could lead to cuts in programs that help frail Minnesota seniors and jeopardize many cost-saving services that support caregivers and help seniors stay in their homes. ... 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lack of awareness that Medicaid is really the safety net in Minnesota for so many of our seniors,鈥 said Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper, whose agency manages the $11 billion program. (Crosby, 6/24)
The bill passed by the House and the draft of the Senate bill would phase out much of the federal dollars that enabled states to expand their Medicaid programs. Supporters of the proposed caps contend the program is unsustainable. (Boulton, 6/24)
The U.S Senate鈥檚 plan to replace Obamacare, unveiled Thursday, would cut funding for Medicaid and other health insurance subsidies by more than $1 billion a year within five years. That has many lawmakers, doctors, hospitals and patients across Massachusetts in a state of alarm. (Bebinger, 6/23)
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is maintaining his commitment to fully fund Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood in Connecticut if the federal government ends its financial support as part of the Republican plan to dramatically reshape the Affordable Care Act, a spokeswoman said. Numbers provided by the governor鈥檚 budget office indicate picking up the federal share of Planned Parenthood鈥檚 funding in Connecticut would cost the state several million dollars each year at current levels. (Constable, 6/23)
Meanwhile, Ohio state legislators are moving to make changes to Medicaid, too --
Ohio's GOP lawmakers say they are devoting millions to the fight against heroin and opioids, even as they propose stripping away insurance that helps Ohioans receive drug treatment. With one hand, GOP lawmakers in the Ohio Senate have offered $176 million to tackle the state's drug problem. With the other, they've proposed crippling Gov. John Kasich's Medicaid expansion by ending new enrollment after July 1, 2018. (Balmert, 6/24)
