... system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. ... Governor Rick Snyder's (R-MI) offi
Officials From Both Parties Speak Out on Medicaid The newly-elected Congress and Trump administration have proposed slashing funding or eligibility for the Medicaid program through block grants or per capita caps and repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. These changes would all shift enormous costs on to states and undermine the coverage and care of the millions of vulnerable Americans who depend on Medicaid. But the continued success of the Medicaid program is a bipartisan issue. State elected and appointed officials, such as governors, state Medicaid directors and state budget officers, have a particular stake in protecting the program. Regardless of party, these officials rely on stable financing from the federal government to continue providing needed services to seniors, people living with disabilities, children and low-income families. Federal Medicaid funds also help to lessen the burden of uncompensated care costs on state budgets and on the provider community. State and other officials have an important role to play in urging Congress to protect Medicaid, stop any cost-shifting from the federal government onto states and ensure coverage for the tens of millions of individuals enrolled. Policymakers – both Republicans and Democrats – in several states have made public statements since the 2016 election about the positive impact that Medicaid and expanded coverage have had on their state and its residents. Many of these statements also express an interest in preserving the program in the face of proposed changes under the Trump administration and a Republican-controlled Congress.
Governors Governor Rick Snyder’s (R-MI) office on the benefits of expanded coverage: "Going forward we will work closely with the federal government to convey the successes of Healthy Michigan and the 600,000-plus Michiganders it is serving." - Ari Adler, Spokesman for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s office Former Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ) on Arizona’s success with costs and provider choice in Medicaid: "I don't know how you could deliver that population any more services better, more cheaply, than what we've already done here.” – Former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Current Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ) has called the proposed removal of Arizona's expanded Medicaid program "unacceptable.”
Federal Policymakers U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) on preserving expanded Medicaid coverage: "I'm from a state that has an expanded Medicaid population that I am very concerned about … I don't want to throw them off into the cold, and I don't think that's a strategy that I want to see. It's too many people. That's over 200,000 people in my state.” – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito
Community Catalyst works to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. www.communitycatalyst.org
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State Medicaid Offices In a presentation to the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, the Arizona Medicaid office under Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ) noted the following as challenges of moving Medicaid to a block grant: “Transfer of risk to states … loss of federal funds … particularly vulnerable in recessions … ongoing instability due to funding pressure will undermine managed care delivery system.” – Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
State Budget Offices Connecticut’s state budget director under Governor Dannel Malloy (D-CT) said the following on the impact of block grants or per capita caps on the state Medicaid program: “ … I really hope that that doesn’t come to pass in its worst possible form because it would mean us turning away from providing health care to groups of people … I think it harms our ability to meet the needs of the developmentally disabled and behavioral health…Hospitals think that we’ve been underfunding them for the last few years anyways. I think that would become more acute.”– Benjamin Barnes, Connecticut state budget director
Community Catalyst is a national non-profit advocacy organization building consumer and community leadership to transform the American health care system. www.communitycatalyst.org
