Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Officials Pledge To Let States Add Medicaid Work Requirements, Other Changes
The Wall Street Journal: White House May Let States Put Work Requirements On Medicaid Recipients
The Trump administration will work with states that want to alter their Medicaid programs by imposing work requirements, premiums, emergency-room copayments and other changes, part of a Republican effort to give states more authority over the program’s implementation. The action is expected to allow states to obtain waivers from the federal government that some health analysts say could add several first-ever obligations for beneficiaries and pare back coverage. (Armour and Radnofsky, 3/14)
CQ Roll Call: HHS, CMS Signal Willingness To Let States Reshape Medicaid
President Donald Trump's new chief of Medicaid and Medicare, Seema Verma, told governors Tuesday she would seek to speed their bids to reshape Medicaid, including requiring people who get benefits to work. "We intend for this to be the beginning of a discussion on how we can revamp the federal and state Medicaid partnership to effectively and efficiently improve health outcomes," wrote Verma, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Pricein a joint letter. (Young, 3/14)
Meanwhile, news outlets look at one administration official's comment about efforts to change the Medicaid expansion and how the GOP plans are playing in two states --
PolitiFact: Mick Mulvaney's Misleading Claim That House GOP Health Care Plan Keeps Medicaid Expansion
If Congress repeals the law known as Obamacare and replaces it with the leading Republican proposal, there could be as many as 14 million fewer Medicaid enrollees by 2026, compared to projections under current law, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, says the CBO analysis is wrong. ... We decided to fact-check Mulvaney’s claim that the leading House Republican proposal — the American Health Care Act — "doesn’t get rid of Medicaid expansion." We found his claim misleading. (Carroll, 3/14)
WBUR: Key In GOP Health Care Overhaul: Massive Changes To Medicaid
As a candidate, President Trump had promised "no cuts" to Medicaid. The Republicans' American Health Care Act, which Trump supports, would end an expansion of the coverage and restructure funding for it. The bill is the first part of a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act enacted under President Obama. (Naylor, 3/14)
Nashville Tennessean: TennCare Chief: Obamacare Replacement Holds 'Serious Budget Implications'
TennCare's chief is concerned about how the GOP proposal to replace Obamacare is structured to reduce Medicaid funding without loosening up regulations for states to further tailor programs. Speaking to the Tennessee House Finance Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday, Dr. Wendy Long told legislators that a funding mechanism such as the proposed per capita cap or a block grant "could have very, very serious budget implications for the state." As proposed, the American Health Care Act is projected to reduce federal spending on Medicaid by $880 billion by 2026, per the Congressional Budget Office. (Fletcher, 3/14)
