Expressing Disapproval of the Trump Administration's Harmful Actions Towards Medicaid

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I adamantly oppose Tennessee's proposal to block grant its version of Medicaid, TennCare, and the Administration's proposal for all states to have the opportunity to restrict Medicaid funding. This proposal would harm Americans most in need across the country. We should not be encouraging states to limit resources and cap budgets. In Tennessee, one in ten people have no health insurance. When this is the case, we should be expanding options for affordable health care options. Instead, this Administration has relentlessly attacked Medicaid and the people who depend on its support to stay healthy. The fact is, the majority of non-disabled, non-elderly adults on Medicaid are working hard and rely on Medicaid to help get the basic health care that they need. I am proud to support H. Res. 826 and will continue to fight for access to health care for all Americans. I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my Colleagues in support of House Resolution 826, ``Expressing disapproval of the Trump administration's harmful actions towards Medicaid.''

Great Presidents are made by landmark policy initiatives and programs that bring a positive impact for the lives of the American people or the world.

Trump has promised to introduce new proposals to protect those with pre-existing conditions if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) bill is replaced, but so far none of his administration's alternatives have come close to providing the level of healthcare currently available.

The landmark bill, seen as one of the key pieces of legislation signed by President Obama barred insurers from denying coverage, or charging more, to those with a pre-existing condition.

Trump said during his State of the Union Address that he would protect the rights of the insured with pre-existing conditions is not true and the dishonesty of his statement is revealed by his administration joining a lawsuit to take away this important protection.

Through his actions Trump is doing all that he can to end the protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

Trump's Justice Department joined a lawsuit that would end the protections for pre-existing conditions.

In July of this year, Medicare and Medicaid will reach 55 years of service to Americans from all walks of life.

On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson, another great president, signed Medicare and Medicaid into law as part of the Social Security Act.

This landmark legislation that truly represents Americans at our best became a reality due to the tireless efforts of great leaders like Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

The signing of the law that established Medicare forged a promise with American seniors that we must not allow Donald J. Trump to take from them.

America's word matters and our promise to our seniors cannot be allowed to be broken.

Both Medicare and Medicaid promise our nation's elderly and poor that they could enjoy their lives with peace of mind and the security of reliable, affordable, and high-quality healthcare.

Medicaid created a crucial partnership between the Government and the governed to provide a basic health care safety net for some of the most vulnerable Americans: children of adults with low incomes, persons with disabilities and the poor.

Mr. Speaker, over half a century later, the legacy of these programs has proven how powerful government action can be to the life and wellbeing of our nation's most vulnerable.

Today, the Trump administration is trying to go back on this promise.

On January 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its long-rumored guidance on Medicaid block grants.

This notice to state Medicaid directors invites states to restructure their Medicaid programs in a radical manner previously rejected by Congress, by capping federal funding at an artificially low level. Millions of Americans will be denied health care because of this draconian directive. Also persons who are disabled, children, and seniors will be most impacted. We should vote no on cutting medicaid and making Americans sicker.

Medicaid's financing is already based on federal matching of state Medicaid costs.

The current program reimburses states as they spend money to pay for Medicaid services, with the federal government paying for a portion of state costs ranging from 50 percent to 90 percent, depending on the nature of the cost and the state.

State fiscal flexibility is therefore built into Medicaid: States can spend what is needed on Medicaid knowing that their match rate is fixed in statute.

Today, 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid for health care, ranging from preventive services, hospital visits, lab tests, to critical medical supplies, and prescription drugs.

Before the Medicaid, funding poor families with children, pregnant women, and low-income working Americans were not able to afford even the most basic medical care they needed to remain healthy and productive.

The most likely group to be block granted under HAO in the next several months is therefore the Medicaid expansion population, composed of adults who are under 138 percent of the federal poverty level and do not otherwise qualify for Medicaid as disabled, as a very low-income parent, or as a pregnant woman.

However, according to the guidance that CMS released, other groups of Medicaid beneficiaries are also vulnerable to a federal approval of a similar block grant if they are in any way optional for states to cover.

The HAO guidance is a quid pro quo that proffers to states accept financial risk in return for new flexibility.

But ``flexibility'' in this case is simply another route to cuts to Medicaid that are not allowed under the Medicaid statute.

As detailed below, HAO allows states to make otherwise disallowed cuts to Medicaid eligibility, benefits, and provider payment rates.

The underlying reason for changing eligibility is to reduce the numbers of those covered.

In my home state of Texas and in communities across the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid are vital programs that have significantly changed the lives and improved health outcomes of many Americans over the past century and represent the best American values where we believe Health is a Human right not a commodity. Medicaid is also really needed when communities face natural disasters like hurricane Harvey in Texas.

Unfortunately, Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured (27.6 percent) in the nation, 4 percent more than Louisiana the next state on the list and has opted out of participating in Medicaid expansion.

The State of Texas' refusal to participate in the Medicaid expansion created by the Affordable Care act has already put the poor residents in my state in jeopardy, with this proposed change many more will be at risk of losing health insurance.

In the 18th Congressional District there are 195,400 persons with Medicaid.

Mr. Speaker, my constituents in the 18th Congressional District of Texas favor access to universal health care, because they understand the insecurity and feeling of helplessness of being uninsured or underinsured.

I join my colleagues in support of H. Res. 826 because it sends a clear message to this Administration and the American people that the House of Representatives--the People's House will not tolerate harmful changes to critical health care programs like Medicaid by this Administration.

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