Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Congress Wrestles With Medicaid's Future, Advocates In States Rally To Preserve Expansion
A House committee is proposing a new way to reshape the Medicaid program, an effort to resolve one of the most divisive issues in the debate among Republicans over how to replace the Affordable Care Act. Under its plan, which the committee expects to unveil in legislation next week, states that grew their Medicaid programs under the health law could maintain their expanded programs until 2020 before federal funding would decrease. (Peterson, Hackman and Armour, 3/3)
A Republican senator from West Virginia is insisting that Medicaid expansion be preserved in the GOP's Obamacare replacement proposal. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's comments on CNN's "New Day" Friday morning highlight the persistent divisions among conservatives over how to address the health law. She defended her state's expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act -- an especially divisive component of the health law among Republicans. (Wright, 3/3)
Until recently, much of the debate over health care's future has focused around skyrocketing prices for insurance bought through exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. But other proposed changes to the health care law and Medicaid under discussion in Washington have the potential to affect far more people in Illinois than an overhaul of the exchanges. More than 3 million Illinois residents 鈥 about 1 of out of every 4 people in the state 鈥 have health insurance through Medicaid, which is funded by state and federal dollars. Any changes to the program could affect consumers and some hospitals and doctors, which use the money they get from Medicaid to bolster their services. This year, the federal government is sending Illinois an estimated $14.1 billion for its share of the program. (Schencker, 3/3)
The 鈥淪ave Our Care鈥 Bus Tour made a stop Friday in Tampa so doctors, patients and caregivers advocate against repealing the Affordable Care Act, and against the congressional Republican push for Medicaid block grants. 聽Opponents like [Michael] Phillips say Medicaid block grants -- which would let the federal government set each state's Medicaid spending amount in advance -- 聽would limit access to care. (Miller, 3/3)
