“States will have the ability to scale back Medicaid spending by converting part of their Medicaid funding into a block grant under a new Trump administration program announced Thursday.”
“A letter to state Medicaid directors outlines how states can undertake the drastic, controversial change that conservatives have eyed for years.”
“The move is likely to kick off a furious legal fight. Democrats have been arguing the administration doesn’t have the authority to approve such drastic changes, and Medicaid advocates argue the changes would hurt low-income people and invite states to cut costs and reduce coverage.”
“The program — branded as the ‘Healthy Adult Opportunity’ — will allow states to ask permission to end their traditional, open-ended Medicaid program and put hard caps on how much money states and the federal government will spend on the poor and disabled…”
“The block grant will apply to the ObamaCare Medicaid expansion population’s ‘able-bodied’ people. Advocates argue this gives an incentive for GOP governors in expansion states to roll back benefits and spending…”
“Congress already rejected block grants when the GOP’s ObamaCare repeal bill failed in 2017. Allowing states to impose those same changes by statutory waiver would be extremely controversial and have widespread implications about the use of executive power…” Read the full article here.
Source: Trump administration to allow Medicaid block grants – By Nathaniel Weixel, January 30, 2020. The Hill.
