Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Tough Talk: Millions More Uninsured Because Trump 'Sabotaged' ACA; Making The Case For Medicaid Work Requirements
The Washington Post: Three Million More People Are Uninsured. Thanks, President Trump.
A year into the Trump administration’s sabotage of Obamacare, the results are emerging. According to the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index, the uninsured rate rose in 2017 by 1.3 percentage points — the largest single-year hike since 2008, when Gallup began collecting the numbers — to 12.2 percent. That may not seem like much. In fact, it works out to about 3.2 million more people lacking health-care insurance. That is a lot of real-world pain and suffering. (1/16)
The Wall Street Journal: The Case For Medicaid Work Requirements
Saturation coverage of what the president did or did not say about immigrants and their homelands may have given the impression that nothing else of much significance is happening in Washington. But few things are more important to America’s financial health than entitlement reform, and last Thursday the Trump administration backed state work requirements for recipients of Medicaid, which covers more Americans than any other health-care program. (Jason L. Riley, 1/16)
Charlotte Observer: A Troubling New Rise In The Uninsured
In what might be the most predictable trend of the Trump era, the uninsured rate appears to be increasing. Because young people (along with African-Americans and Hispanics) saw the biggest declines in coverage, health care premiums will likely rise for most Americans faster than they otherwise would. The trend is bad for those who no longer have insurance – and for those who do. (1/16)
Los Angeles Times: Kentucky's New Obstacles To Medicaid Coverage Are Crueler Than You Could Imagine
One can say this about the hoops Kentucky will require low-income residents to jump through to become eligible for Medicaid: If you were deliberately trying to come up with ways to throw people off the program, you couldn't do better. It's been widely reported that the "waiver" of Medicaid rules approved for the state by federal officials last week includes a first-in-the-nation work requirement. But there's much more to it, none of it good if you are a Medicaid enrollee or someone who believes that the purpose of government healthcare programs is to provide people with healthcare. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/16)
The New York Times: Making Medicaid A Tool For Moral Education May Let Some Die
Apparently the plan to Make America Great Again will let some Americans die. Kentucky rushed last week to become the first of the nation’s 50 states to impose a work requirement on recipients of Medicaid. ... the plan is expected to reduce Medicaid spending by $2.4 billion over five years. Roughly half of the 350,000 able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries in Kentucky currently do not meet the work requirements, by the government’s estimates, and could lose their benefits. Five years from now, the Bevin administration calculates, the change will have culled some 100,000 people from the rolls. (Eduardo Porter, 1/16)
Arizona Republic: Tax Reform Doesn't Threaten Social Security And Medicare
One of the Democratic talking points against the tax reform bill passed by Republicans is that it threatens Social Security and Medicare. Those making the claim never get around to explaining exactly how the tax bill threatens Social Security and Medicare. And there’s a reason for that. The effect of the tax bill on the challenges facing the two programs is negligible. (Robert Robb, 1/12)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Northam Can Lead Bipartisan Reform To Make Health Care More Accessible
Gov. Ralph Northam already has made Medicaid expansion one of his top priorities. Republicans don’t like the idea. But their recent abandonment of divisive social causes such as abortion and anti-LGBT issues suggests they might be more receptive to compromise on Medicaid as well. (A. Barton Hinkle, 1/16)
Des Moines Register: Privatizing Iowa Medicaid Has Privatized Previously Public Information
Deny. Deny. Deny. That is the motto of for-profit insurers now entrusted to manage health care services for more than 500,000 Iowans on Medicaid. Refuse to cover the cost of an emergency room visit. Cut in-home services for disabled people. Fail to reimburse health providers. Unfortunately, a care denial is only the beginning of an Iowan's nightmare under privatized Medicaid, according to an investigation by Register reporter Jason Clayworth published Sunday. (1/16)
