It’s déjà vu in D.C. as the Senate tries again to pass a ACA repeal and gut Medicaid through Graham-Cassidy—a bill that’s arguably worse for kids, families, and states than previous attempts. Even as many have tired of the whiplash, it cannot be understated that this new threat is as serious as those over the summer.
I’ve written before about Jimmy Kimmel’s entrée into this debate, resulting in the “Jimmy Kimmel test,” which states that every child who needs care will get it at no additional cost or burden to their families. Sen. Cassidy went on Kimmel’s show in the Spring to state his commitment to ensure any plan would pass this test.
Last night, Kimmel used his monologue to call out the senator for pushing a new bill that does not pass his own test. He called for a new Jimmy Kimmel test: “it’s called the lie detector test.” Once again, in addition to Kimmel, every major provider and consumer group opposed to this bill. (See, also, the latest credit warning from Fitch.) Among those on the list: a bipartisan group of governors, the American Medical Association, and on and on…. Private insurers,including Blue Cross Blue Shield, are not too crazy about it, either.
Even more baffling is the perverse way that CHIP has been brought into this debate, even as the clock is ticking on the need for a funding extension. As my colleague Kelly Whitener wrote, Graham-Cassidy has stalled all progress on the recent CHIP deal and other bipartisan work to improve the system in place today.
What’s amazing is that in responding to Kimmel’s monologue this morning on CNN, Senator Cassidy (among other claims we would question) argues that since the bill’s mega block grant funds run through the popular, bipartisan CHIP program that coverage affordability and quality will be protected. Says Cassidy:
We take it through […] the CHIP program, which has a defined actuarial value. There’s nobody who criticizes the CHIP program- they all think it works. […] Our bill goes through the CHIP program. It’s how you provide and judge the coverage. […] Whatever’s offered has to be affordable and adequate.
To say that’s a stretch is an understatement—my colleagues will have more to say about this in the coming days here on Say Ahhh! CHIP is a bipartisan, popular program, yes. The recent Hatch-Wyden deal shows the commitment to its extension for kids. But using CHIP—and its popularity—as a vehicle to circumvent process and political barriers to pass repeal undermines that commitment. In addition to the curious claims that CHIP would protect coverage quality and affordability, remember that the block grants and caps in the bill severely cut funds to states both in Medicaid and Marketplace support (despite misleading claims and numbers from the sponsors).
It’s bad enough that this latest Hail Mary sidelined the bipartisan CHIP progress and is putting coverage for even more kids and families at risk. But hijacking CHIP with the assertion that it will protect coverage for all is even worse. If Congressional leaders are serious about a health care bill that passes the Jimmy Kimmel test, they would be wise to abandon this partisan push and return to bipartisan solutions—like CHIP funding extension and marketplace stabilization—to improve the system we have now, not dismantle it.
