Saturday, April 22, 2023

Republican Plan Takes 10 Million Off Medicaid



According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a proposal pushed by craven right-wing House Squeaker Kevin "Qevin" McCarthy would take Medicaid coverage away from roughly 10 million Americans who don't meet the Republican-initiated work-reporting requirements. The proposal is part of the reactionary House Republican debt limit bill that would take the economy hostage to their demands. 

In their never ending quest to undermine the historic health care legacy of President Obama, the proposal would mainly impact those individuals in states which expanded Medicaid under Obama's Affordable Care Act. From the CBPP's analysis:

"Nationwide, we estimate that over 10 million Medicaid expansion enrollees — more than 1 in 5 of all Medicaid enrollees in expansion states — would be at risk of losing Medicaid coverage under the policy in McCarthy’s debt limit bill, using 2019 (pre-pandemic) data. Some 74 percent of all expansion enrollees and 21 percent of all Medicaid beneficiaries in the states that have adopted the expansion would be subject to the new requirements and, thus, at risk of losing coverage.

People in every expansion state would be affected, with the share of total Medicaid enrollees at risk ranging from 15 to 37 percent. (See Table 1 and Methodology.) Because we use 2019 data, the national estimate does not include the nine states that expanded coverage after that date and therefore very likely understates the number of enrollees at risk. If those states were included, it would likely add upward of 1 million more enrollees at risk of losing coverage."  (our emphasis)

The far-right debt limit bill in its current state is dead on arrival, likely even with Senate Republicans. Debt limit bills that take the nation hostage in return for radical right-wing agenda items are a feature now whenever Republicans control the House, but not when a Republican President needs to increase the debt limit. 

As we've said frequently, the Republican / Forced Birth / Shooters party exists to comfort the comfortable, and afflict the afflicted.

(photo: AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

 

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