Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Obscure Medicaid Funding Provision In GOP Bill Roils New York Politics
State lawmakers hashing out a $152 billion budget are contending with a possible complication as Congress weighs a proposal that would shift some health-care costs from New York鈥檚 counties to its state government. (Vilensky, 3/21)
The governor likened it to an act of war. A Democratic congresswoman called it a brazen case of theft. And a Republican legislative leader suggested it could be a crisis on the level of 9/11. Even as Congress debated a massive and divisive overhaul of the nation鈥檚 health care system, a late amendment to the bill seemingly singling out New York鈥檚 state government for new financial responsibilities under Medicaid set off a separate political firestorm in the president鈥檚 home state, again pitting its Democratic governor against Mr. Trump and his Republican surrogates. (McKinley, 3/21)
Governor Andrew Cuomo accused two New York Republicans in the U.S. House of selling out their constituents and risking the state鈥檚 economy with a plan to聽win votes for a bill to replace Obamacare by exempting most counties from paying for Medicaid. The proposal crafted Monday by U.S. Representatives Chris Collins of Lancaster, near Buffalo, and John Faso of Kinderhook, near Albany, would force the state to absorb the $2.2 billion of Medicaid costs paid by counties聽outside New York City. (Goldman and House, 3/21)
If you're poor and you want to keep your health insurance, you may have to go to work. That's the message from Republican lawmakers who Monday night released a series of changes to their plan to overhaul the Affordable Care Act.A key change, designed to help attract votes from conservative Republicans, would let state governors require people to work to qualify for health insurance under Medicaid. (Kodjak, 3/21)
On Thursday night, the House is expected to vote on a bill to repeal Obamacare. The only hurdle is Republicans themselves. House leaders are desperate to get enough conservatives on board to get the bill to the Senate, so last night they made some changes to it. One sweetener: letting states add work requirements to Medicaid eligibility rules. (Gorenstein, 3/21)
The Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare is drawing strong opposition just ahead of a crucial聽House floor vote expected on Thursday, driven by the bill鈥檚 cuts to the Medicaid health program for the poor. A group representing major Medicaid insurers said on Tuesday that it has 鈥渟erious concerns鈥 about the GOP bill, estimated to slash $880 billion from Medicaid. Governors, including some Republicans, are also warning that it could blow holes in their budgets and harm constituents. (Tracer, 3/21)
Connie Dotts is a big fan of her insurance. "I like that we can choose our own doctors," says the 60-year-old resident of Mesa, Ariz. "They also have extensive mental health coverage." Dotts isn't on some pricey plan, either. She's among the nearly 2 million people enrolled in Medicaid in Arizona and one of the more than 400,000 who have signed up since the Republican-led state expanded Medicaid in 2013. (Stone, 3/22)
A Republican proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act would effectively block states鈥 ability to expand Medicaid, thwarting a new attempt by Kansas to expand its own privatized version of the program. Congressional Republicans have continued to push forward with the GOP鈥檚 American Health Care Act, which would repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as 鈥淥bamacare.鈥 The Republican bill has struggled to find widespread support, even in the Republican-controlled Congress. (Woodall and Wise, 3/21)