Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Position That Native Americans Aren't Exempt From Work Requirements Has Little Support Outside HHS' Legal Office
Politico: Trump Challenge To Native Americans' Health Splits HHS, Alarms Hill GOP
HHS leaders want states to settle the contentious question of whether Native Americans should get jobs in order to keep their health care — a move that likely won't resolve the underlying challenge to tribal sovereignty and was sparked by an unusual split between the agency's politically appointed administrators and legal counsel. The agency's position that tribes are a racial group and not separate governments — a determination by Trump administration lawyers that POLITICO first detailed last month — has raised concerns in Congress and alarmed the tribes, who say it reverses centuries of protections enshrined in the Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court. (Diamond and Pradhan, 5/10)
The Hill: GOP Senator Calls For Mandatory Medicaid Work Requirements
Republican Sen. John Kennedy (La.) on Thursday said Medicaid work requirements should be mandatory for states, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should take the lead to make it happen. During a hearing on the HHS budget, Kennedy said many Medicaid beneficiaries who aren’t working “would like to know the dignity of work” noting he would like to see HHS work with Congress to put together a program that would institute a mandatory requirement that Medicaid beneficiaries work 20 hours a week. (Weixel, 5/10)
In other Medicaid news —
CQ: Children's Health Funds Spark Concern As House GOP Whips Cuts
House Rules Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said GOP leaders were encountering "points of contention" over a $15.3 billion spending cuts package set to reach the floor as early as next week, specifically the measure's $7 billion reduction of unspent Children's Health Insurance Program balances."We're making sure that we take member input right now," Sessions said. "I mean, we fight a lot to make sure that women and children get the food that they need and nothing up to now should be done that gets in the way of that, and so we just need to make sure we understand the whys and the hows. And so people are looking at this." (Mejdrich and Shutt, 5/10)
New Hampshire Union Leader: State Senate Endorses House Changes To Medicaid Expansion
The pitched battle over the biggest issue of the 2018 legislative session ended with a whimper Thursday as the State Senate endorsed House changes to Medicaid expansion that will preserve taxpayer-paid health insurance for 50,000 low-income adults through 2023. With no debate, the Senate voted 16-6 to go along with House amendments which require lawmakers at least review the effectiveness of this program in 2½ years. (Landrigan, 5/10)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Louisiana Mental Health Advocates Bracing For $50 Million Budget Cut, Predict Layoffs
This year, mental-health service providers see a picture of the future that's particularly dire as the state approaches a fiscal cliff July 1. A House-approved budget would slash $50 million in state and federal Medicaid dollars for mental health services, eliminating outpatient programs that bring treatment to people in their homes, guide them through the health care system and teach them how to cope and live independently. The cuts would also reduce Medicaid reimbursement rates for inpatient psychiatric hospitals. The Louisiana Department of Health estimates more than 18,040 people receiving those services would be affected. (Sayre, 5/10)
