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Medicaid Block Grants Are Medicaid Cuts That Will Kill People
The Trump administration took another step to rip health care away from millions, announcing a new Medicaid proposal that lets states set funding caps which could lead to drastically lower funding for the program that provides health care for millions of low-income Americans.
Defending Medicaid from Trump can unify Democrats. It can bridge the gap between the young, non-white and/or urban voters in the base and the suburban whites Democrats hope to keep in their anti-Trump coalition through 2020.
The Trump administration wants to dramatically alter the way the federal government gives money to states for Medicaid.... states to receive a capped amount of federal dollars for part of the program....it could profoundly reshape how Medicaid operates.
The forthcoming block grant program comes with a new name — “Healthy Adult Opportunity” — but retains the original mission long sought by conservatives: allowing states to cap a portion of their spending on Medicaid, a radical change in how the safety net health program is financed.
Republicans are using a lot of fancy budget jargon but “block grants” and “reform” mean cuts. Their Medicaid "healthy opportunity" plan will leave many sicker and deny them care they need.
The block grant plan, which invites states to request capped funding for poor adults covered by Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, also would let states limit health benefits and drugs available to some patients.
Medicaid covers health care for 71 million people across the country — most are low-income people, disabled people, and children. It's set up as a federal-state partnership — a state contributes money to cover its Medicaid population, and the federal government matches that contribution using a formula based on a state's per capita income. Therefore, low-income states get more from the federal government than high-income states do.
Medicaid covers everything from treatment for substance use to health care for some of our nation's most vulnerable. Cuts to Medicaid will have real consequences for families across the country.
Trump administration also will allow participating states to limit the drugs offered by their Medicaid programs....normally Medicaid covers all drugs.
Democrats have also long warned the Trump administration that they would vigorously oppose any effort to cap Medicaid spending after Congress rejected the idea during the failed effort to replace Obamacare.
Sources:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/29/trump-medicaid-overhaul-block-grants-108882