Parsing Medicaid: How Public Misunderstanding Steers The Debate; Is GOP Overhaul A ‘Ticking Time Bomb’ Or Not ‘That Bad’?
Much of the heated discourse surrounding Senate Republican's Better Care Reconciliation Act has to do with Medicaid and opinion writers across the country have things to say about it.
The New York Times:
The Mitch McConnell Sinkhole
More than a third of Americans believe that Medicaid is akin to welfare, with the implicit subtext that racial and ethnic minorities are the principal beneficiaries. If that’s what they think, they’re dead wrong. Many more Medicaid recipients are white than black or Hispanic. Mick Mulvaney, a former congressman from South Carolina who is now the director of the Office of Management and Budget, promulgates the conservative view. (Thomas B. Edsall, 6/29)
The Washington Post:
Why The Fear-Mongering On Medicaid Is Totally Overblown
The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the pending legislation before Congress would result in large cost savings, primarily by comparing the bills with how Medicaid enrollment would evolve if the ACA remained on the books. That comparison is important, but it obscures how many people would remain on Medicaid’s rolls. In fact, the CMS actuary projects that under the House bill, total Medicaid enrollment will stay roughly constant above 70 million people over the next decade. This is lower than it would be under the ACA, but higher than the enrollment population before the ACA was enacted (roughly 55 million). (Charles Blahous, 6/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Republicaid Party?
With the Senate health-care bill delayed for now, the conservative and more centrist GOP wings need to bridge a philosophical gap to succeed. The outcome of this debate will define what the Republican Party stands for—and whether the problems of America’s entitlement state can ever be solved. (6/28)
Arizona Republic:
Medicaid Cuts Aren't That Bad For Arizona (So Stop Freaking Out)
The hysteria over the effect of Republican Obamacare replacement proposals on Arizona’s Medicaid program is badly overwrought. The accusation is routinely made that they will toss 400,000 Arizonans off the Medicaid rolls. (Robert Robb, 6/28)
Bloomberg:
One Nightmare Scenario In Senate Bill: Drug Rationing
Senate Republicans may not realize it, but their repeal-and-replace health-care legislation, if passed, would set the U.S. on the road to European-style price controls and rationing of prescription medications. This would follow fairly directly from the enormous cuts to Medicaid that the bill would impose. (Peter R. Orszag, 6/28)
San Jose Mercury News:
Life Without Medicaid Will Be Grim For Disabled
I chose medicine as a profession to care for members of my community regardless of their income levels, disabilities or any other ways in which Congress’ health care legislation will divide the haves and have-nots. I will continue to devote myself fully to the care of all my patients. But I deeply lament that – if passed – this legislation will only make my work more challenging, ur system more overburdened, and my patients’ lives shorter and more difficult. (Nuriel Moghavem, 6/28)
Cincinnati Enquirer:
Senate Health Care Bill A Ticking Time Bomb
First, my job as a small business owner has allowed me to watch the positive impact of the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid expansion in Ohio and Kentucky directly. Second, my education in economics and business helped me understand that a healthy workforce is good for the economy. (Paul Neumann, 6/28)
Kansas City Star:
Not Expanding Medicaid Leaves Us All Behind
Instead of discussing these viable solutions, conversations surrounding the American Health Care Act have legislators scrapping much of what worked about the ACA. Most alarmingly, the AHCA would impose per capita caps on Medicaid and reduce Medicaid funding by more than $830 billion over 10 years. (Bridget McCandless, 6/28)
