Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
McAuliffe Says Health Bill's Collapse In Congress Signals Need For Virginia To Expand Medicaid
The Washington Post: McAuliffe: If Obamacare Is Here To Stay, Then It’s Time To Expand Medicaid
The failure of Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare has emboldened Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) to renew his stalled crusade to expand Medicaid in Virginia. On Monday, he proposed an amendment to state budget language to give him power to set an expansion in motion, and called on the Republican-controlled General Assembly to immediately begin making plans. But Republican legislators were unmoved by the plea, saying they would reject the amendment and that they stood firm against expanding Medicaid. (Schneider, 3/27)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: McAuliffe Says 'No More Excuses' Not To Expand Medicaid After Trump Plan Failure
Gov. Terry McAuliffe is making another bid to expand Virginia’s Medicaid program, saying that state Republican lawmakers have “no more excuses” in the aftermath of the failed plan by President Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. (Martz, 3/28)
CNN: McAuliffe Pushes Virginia Medicaid Expansion After GOP's Failure To Repeal Obamacare
Virginia's Democratic governor is using President Donald Trump's failure to repeal Obamacare to heap pressure on Republican state lawmakers to expand Medicaid. Gov. Terry McAuliffe -- who has long supported the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, but has been stymied by GOP legislators in extending the coverage to more than 400,000 Virginians -- announced the push Monday. (Bradner, 3/27)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Eyes New Medicaid Options After Trump Health Bill Fails
Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday his administration is exploring changes to Georgia’s Medicaid program after a sweeping Republican overhaul of the Affordable Care Act was scuttled in a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump and Congressional leaders. The Republican governor said there are limits to what the state can request “as long as mandates under the basic Obamacare legislation stand in place.” But he said the state would review healthcare options that could include changes to “mandated minimum coverage” provisions that require the state Medicaid program to cover a range of health services to recipients. (Bluestein, 3/27)
The Associated Press: Georgia Governor Says State Will Explore Health Care Changes
Trump’s administration has signaled a willingness to let states experiment with Medicaid funds using waivers. Former Georgia congressman Tom Price now leads the Department of Health and Human Services under Trump. Deal said Monday that he wants the state to look into the options but didn’t discuss details. He also added that his administration hasn’t developed a proposal so far. (Foody, 3/27)
The New York Times: In Health Bill’s Defeat, Medicaid Comes Of Age
When it was created more than a half century ago, Medicaid almost escaped notice. Front-page stories hailed the bigger, more controversial part of the law that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed that July day in 1965 — health insurance for elderly people, or Medicare, which the American Medical Association had bitterly denounced as socialized medicine. The New York Times did not even mention Medicaid, conceived as a small program to cover poor people’s medical bills. (Zernike, Goodnough and Belluck, 3/27)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: With Congress Gridlocked, Scott Walker Wants Trump To OK Drug Tests For State Health Coverage
With the GOP's repeal of Obamacare stymied in Congress, Gov. Scott Walker is still rejecting the federal law and instead asking the Trump administration to let Wisconsin drug test applicants for state coverage. Even though federal money remains available for providing health care to more Wisconsin residents, the GOP governor says he's not reconsidering his decision to skip that and forgo hundreds of millions of dollars from federal taxpayers. (Stein, 3/27)
