Friday, June 2, 2017

Medicaid is on the Chopping Block


The Fate of 16.8 Million Enrollees Rests
on 20 GOP Senators from 14 States


By Jeffrey Young and Alissa Scheller

The Senate is on the verge of debating legislation to repeal and “replace” the Affordable Care Act, and Medicaid is on the chopping block.

Whatever happens next with Obamacare repeal and the future of Medicaid will depend in large measure on whether GOP senators choose to fight for the combined 16.8 million of their constituents on Medicaid, including 4.3 million who gained Medicaid coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, according to data from state agencies compiled by HuffPost. 

The Republicans in the House narrowly passed health care legislation last month that would gut the health care program, which the federal government jointly operates and finances with the states, for low-income families, people with disabilities and elderly nursing home patients. President Donald Trump staged a celebration at the White House after the passage of a measure projected to cause 14 million Medicaid beneficiaries to lose coverage. That’s despite repeatedly promising during his campaign not to cut Medicaid.

The American Health Care Act not only would undo the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion ― a major contributor to the law’s success at driving the uninsured rate to a historic low ― but would take hundreds of billions of dollars out of the rest of Medicaid, which would force states to make major cutbacks to who they cover, what benefits they provide and how much they pay doctors and hospitals. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: The Huffington Post

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