Say Ahhh!
-
Same Playbook: Major Medicaid Cuts under Consideration for Budget Reconciliation Similar to Medicaid Cuts in Failed ACA Repeal Bills from 2017
This week, the House is scheduled to vote on a budget resolution that would require the House Energy and Commerce Committee to make at least $880 billion over ten years in mandatory spending cuts as part of budget reconciliation legislation, most or all of which would come from Medicaid. The draconian Medicaid cuts under consideration…
-
A Strong Medicaid Means Strong Families
By Zach Laris, Bolder Horizon The term “child welfare policy” can confuse as much as it illuminates. When first hearing it, many mistakenly think it’s about the generic wellbeing of children, or cash assistance. Child welfare policy is fundamentally about family trauma and child health. A new Georgetown CCF brief also shows that it’s integrally…
-
Statement by Joan Alker on Released Draft House Budget Resolution
The following is a statement by Joan Alker, Executive Director of the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families, on the release of the House Budget Resolution February 12, 2025FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Statement by Joan Alker, Executive Director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families “In conflict with…
-
Medicaid Provider Taxes: A Critical Source of Medicaid Funding for States
As my colleague Edwin Park has detailed, House Republican leaders are considering draconian cuts to Medicaid that would decimate the program. Among the House Budget Committee’s list of options for Medicaid cuts being considered is a restriction on states’ current ability to use provider taxes to help finance their share of the cost of Medicaid.…
-
Statement by Joan Alker Calling on Trump Administration to Clarify Whether or Not OMB Memo M-25-13 Would Pause Medicaid and CHIP Funds
The following is a statement by Joan Alker, Executive Director of the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families, in response to the OMB Memo January 28, 2025FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Statement by Joan Alker, Executive Director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families “Last night, a memo (M-25-13) from…
-
The Truth about Waste and Abuse in Medicaid
“States are abusing federal Medicaid policy. There is an enormous amount of waste, fraud and abuse in the program.” – Brian Blase, President, Paragon Health Institute, as reported in Stat (January 6, 2025) This falsehood is one premise for the proposals to cut federal Medicaid spending by $2.3 trillion (with a “t”) over the next…
-
Cutting Federal Medicaid Payments to States: Bad News for Their Credit Ratings
Medicaid is the nation’s largest health insurer, covering over 70 million Americans. And, as a new CCF report documents, it is a particularly important source of coverage for children and adults in rural areas and small towns. Republicans in the House are reportedly discussing (here and here) cutting federal Medicaid spending by up to $2.3…
-
Cuts to Medicaid Could Harm Students
By: Anne Dwyer, Hannah Green and Jessie Mandle, National Program Director at the Healthy Schools Campaign With Congress contemplating major cuts to Medicaid , health services provided to school-age children covered by Medicaid could be threatened. Services provided in schools increase access to care for school-age children – who make up nearly one third of…
-
House Budget Committee Circulates New Detailed List of Budget Reconciliation Options Including Draconian Medicaid Cuts Within House Republican Caucus
On Friday, January 17, Politico and other news outlets reported that the House Budget Committee distributed to the House Republican Caucus a new 50-page list of mandatory spending and tax proposals that may be included in budget reconciliation legislation. The new list includes not only the draconian Medicaid cuts of up to $2.3 trillion over…
-
Cuts to Medicaid Will Shift Costs to Families, Providers and Will Be Especially Harmful to Rural Communities
Medicaid is the backbone of many aspects of our health care system including paying for the majority of nursing home residents, covering 40 to 50 percent of children and births depending on where you live, people with disabilities and other low-income people. Medicaid covers almost 80 million people in total – roughly four times as…
-
The Tennessee “Shared Savings” Waiver: Not a Medicaid Block Grant
As our colleague Edwin Park has explained, there is keen interest on the part of some Congressional Republican leaders in capping federal Medicaid payments to states, ideally by converting Medicaid from a health insurance program into a block grant. Currently, the federal government matches state spending for the costs of health and long-term care services…
-
House Budget Committee Chair Pushes House Republican Caucus to Adopt His List of Draconian Medicaid Cuts
According to press reports, at a January 4th meeting of the House Republican caucus, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) presented policy options to deeply cut federal Medicaid spending, including a proposal to convert Medicaid to a per capita cap, as part of budget reconciliation legislation this year. Now, according to a…
-
The Truth about Fraud Against Medicaid
[Read Andy Schneider’s most recent blog about fraud against Medicaid: The Improper Use of Improper Payments.] As my colleague Edwin Park has explained, capping federal Medicaid payments to states will likely be a key objective for the incoming administration. To lay the groundwork for this radical cost shift, the administration and its allies can be…
-
House Republicans Actively Considering Deep and Damaging Cuts to Medicaid
As we have previously written, since the November election, Congressional Republican leaders have been increasingly open about their intent to make deeply damaging cuts to Medicaid. Now, at a caucus retreat on January 4th, House Republicans actively discussed policy options to cut federal Medicaid spending — including converting Medicaid to a per capita cap —…
-
CMS Announces State Recipients of the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model
Last year, CMS announced a grant opportunity to boost state Medicaid agency efforts to improve maternal health in the United States. The Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model seeks to help states develop a comprehensive approach to the perinatal period that addresses the whole person’s physical, mental health, and social needs that may be experienced during…
-
Medicaid Managed Care in 2024: The Year That Was
2024 was a year of transition for Medicaid managed care. At the federal level, there were significant revisions in regulatory requirements relating to access to care and increases in transparency about MCO performance. At the state level, the end of the unwinding of the public health emergency continuous eligibility requirement meant the end of the…
-
Medicaid Managed Care: Transparency for Young Children in 12 States
Regular Say Ahhh! readers know that most children covered by Medicaid in most states received their coverage through private insurance companies, or managed care organizations (MCOs). We believe that publicly-available data on Medicaid managed care performance is key to fully understanding how well Medicaid MCOs are working for children. Consistent, MCO-level data helps identify gaps…
-
New Tool to Help States Support Community Health Workers – What Would Federal Medicaid Cuts Mean for Progress?
Community health workers (also known as promotores and community health representatives) fill an important role in the health care system by linking individuals to public health and medical resources that support their health and well-being. Community health workers are unique in that they are trusted members of the community and are able to serve as…
-
The Budget Resolution and Reconciliation Process Explained
In early 2021, we wrote about the basic rules for passing legislation in the House versus the Senate and how the budget reconciliation process allows certain legislation to move forward with approval from a simple majority of Senators rather than be subject to the filibuster and the usual three-fifths or 60-vote threshold. Given recent reports…
-
Are Children Receiving the Full Protection of Medicaid’s Pediatric Benefit Package?
Medicaid covers over 30 million children, or about 40 percent of all children. Medicaid covers disproportionately large shares of low-income children, children of color, and children with special health care needs. Medicaid law and policy necessarily impact children, oftentimes children who would be uninsured or underinsured without it. Children with Medicaid coverage are entitled to…
