Perspectives: End The ‘War On Medicaid’; Keep Eyes On Medicaid In Congressional Health Debate

Morning Consult: Time To End The War On Medicaid
Any cuts to Medicaid would be devastating. Changing Medicaid from an entitlement into a state-based per capita grant program will cause permanent and growing damage to people’s health and the ability of our nation to respond to natural or economic disaster. Medicaid is the backbone of health coverage in America. One in two Americans will need Medicaid at some point during their lifetimes. Medicaid provides for healthy births and assistance for older people to be able to remain in their homes. Today, Medicaid is also there to help many thousands of people who lose their jobs in the aftermath of unforeseen disasters like recessions or hurricanes. Similarly, when an outbreak of illness occurs, Medicaid is there to provide coverage for needed care. (Doug Wirth, 7/20)

The Washington Post: Don’t Get Distracted: The GOP’s Cruel Health-Care Plan Isn’t Dead Yet
Focus, America, focus. The most urgent task right now is to make sure a stake is driven through the heart of the Republican effort to gut Medicaid and balloon the ranks of the uninsured. I know that the Russia investigations are charging ahead, with Capitol Hill appearances by members of President Trump’s inner circle scheduled for next week. I know that Trump gave an unhinged interview to the New York Times on Wednesday, bizarrely undermining his own attorney general. I know that one of the few remaining giants in Washington, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), has received a tough medical diagnosis. (Eugene Robinson, 7/20)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Controlling The Cost Of Medicaid
The federal–state Medicaid program is facing the possibility of the largest and most consequential changes to its funding since its inception in 1965. The American Health Care Act (AHCA), H.R. 1628, as adopted by the House of Representatives on May 4, would replace the current federal matching program for Medicaid with a per capita cap on federal funds. This cap would limit the growth of these funds to the growth rate of the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index, with an additional 1% growth allowed for older adult and disabled Medicaid enrollees. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that this policy would result in federal funding reductions of more than $800 billion over the next 10 years, equivalent to a 26% reduction in federal support by 2026. These large reductions represent an unprecedented shift of financial risk to the states. Missing from the debate has been consideration of policies that could improve the value of the Medicaid program, controlling Medicaid spending without diminishing coverage or quality. (K. John McConnell and Michael E. Chernew, 7/20)

The New York Times: The Ethics Of Adjusting Your Assets To Qualify For Medicaid
Whatever twists and turns the health insurance debates in Washington take, Medicaid will be at the center, and the program will probably affect you and your family more than you know. After all, if you run out of money in retirement, it is Medicaid that pays for most of your nursing home or home-based care. (Ron Lieber, 7/21)

Morning Consult: The Value Of A Human Life
As you can see, not only does McConnell’s BCRA dramatically roll back funding for hospitals and insurance companies to cover more people, and slash funding for Medicaid — a program which disproportionately helps poor and low-income Americans — but it also devalues human life as a whole. And with the value of a life now redefined, will Senate Republicans next move to make massive cuts to the Transportation Department highway safety programs, or the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety programs? (Dr. J. Mario Molina, 7/21)