Rokita Blasts President's "Distortions' of Medicaid Proposals

Statement

Representative Todd Rokita (IN-4) today issued the following statement in response to President Obama's remarks on Medicaid reforms in the recently-passed House budget plan. Rokita, a member of the House Budget Committee, authored key Medicaid provisions included in the budget that would save taxpayers more than $120 billion.

"Today the president gave a campaign speech with more of the same class warfare rhetoric," said Rokita. "He had the audacity to attack the House budget proposal, which actually does something about the our catastrophic levels of debt, even though his own plan didn't get a single "yes' vote in the House.

"And despite his distortions, the House budget wouldn't cut a single penny from current federal Medicaid spending. We're simply taking projected spending off auto-pilot and giving states the power to innovate and direct their own Medicaid programs. Nearly 25 percent of state budgets go to Medicaid, and if we want the program to continue to help low-income Americans, we must deal with spending long-term. The House budget does this in a responsible and realistic way."

The budget plan passed by the House last week contained significant provisions from Rokita's State Health Flexibility Act, H.R. 4160, which would block grant Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) to the states.

In an op-ed for Forbes yesterday in support of Rokita's bill, contributor Sally Pipes wrote: "The time to transform Medicaid is now. The program's fiscal outlook couldn't be more dire. Transforming its funding plan from open-ended federal matching to block grants would spur innovation, cut costs, and improve enrollee benefits."

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