Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: The Risks Of 'Reforming' Medicaid; Did The CBO Offer An 'Indictment' Of This Program?
Huffington Post: Medicaid Is About Grandma
Why don’t Democrats more often make the point Sen. Chuck Schumer made this week about the consequences of GOP efforts to scuttle Medicaid: "Medicaid is for poor people, but also 60 percent goes to people in nursing homes. And that affects not only them, but their kids. You’re a kid 45 or 50, your Mom or Dad is in a nursing home. They could be kicked out after this bill passes. What would you do? You have to take them at home, stop working to take care of them. Or you have to shell out thousands of dollars out of your pocket." (Craig Crawford, 3/14)
Philly.com: Proposed Medicaid Reforms Could Devastate Young People With Complex Medical Needs
Current proposals to simultaneously repeal the Affordable Care Act and reform the federal Medicaid program would be devastating to children and young adults with disabilities and complex medical needs. Even if the final ACA replacement plan continues to allow young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26 – which is a benefit largely supported on both sides of the political aisle – the most medically complex among them rely on Medicaid because of the extraordinary level and cost of care needed. (Anna Nguyen, Rebecca Kim, Sophie Jan and Ahaviah Glaser, 3/15)
The Wall Street Journal: Medicaid Is Free. So Why Does It Require A Mandate?
The Congressional Budget Office is out with its analysis of the House Republicans’ ObamaCare replacement, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The CBO’s report includes an implicit but powerful indictment of Medicaid, America’s second-largest health care entitlement. (Avik Roy, 3/14)
RealClear Health: CBO: You Can't "Lose" Medicaid You Don't Have
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had to deal with two separate worlds when it analyzed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the version of “repeal and replace” put forward by two House committees. While the CBO exists to provide numbers that relate to spending, deficits, and the economy, a different number got the most attention: the assessment that by 2026 24 million fewer people would have health insurance. (Hanns Kuttner, 3/15)
The Washington Post: The CBO Report Raises Five Serious Questions
The Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act — showing that as many as 24 million people could lose health insurance, Medicaid would be drastically cut and older, poorer Americans would suffer the most — leaves us with a number of questions. (Jennifer Rubin, 3/14)
USA Today: Arkansas Is A Role Model In Health Policy
In a recent meeting with our nation’s governors, President Trump voiced a revelation that health care “is an unbelievably complex subject.” The governors and their Congressional colleagues are calling for simple fixes and will soon face the same recognition. In addressing a Joint Session of Congress, the president called for sweeping changes to "save us from this imploding healthcare." Now with a plan on the table, the Republican led Congress faces a challenge not unlike the Democratic-led Congress faced eight years ago. (Joe Thompson, 3/14)
