Medicaid

The White House still opposes entitlement cuts it once supported, Treasury secretary nominee Jack Lew said in response to questions from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, asked Lew about Medicare and Medicaid cuts in written questions following a hearing on his nomination. 

In his responses to Hatch, Lew made clear that the White House does not support raising the eligibility age for Medicare — a proposal Obama had supported in 2011 deficit talks with House Speaker John Boehner.

Planned Parenthood's political arm claimed victory Friday as a federal judge chose to permanently block an Arizona law aiming at barring the group from Medicaid.

Arizona's GOP governor, Jan Brewer, had declared it a priority to ensure no state dollars flowed to abortion providers that also offer women's health services. State and federal law prohibit public funds from supporting abortion procedures.

But the law became entangled in the courts, with Planned Parenthood arguing that it was discriminatory and neglectful to low-income women. 

Protesters disrupted a fundraiser featuring Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Friday, criticizing him for refusing to implement central parts of President Obama's healthcare law.

Protesters interrupted Perry's speech during a fundraising breakfast in Washington. A larger group gathered outside Republicans' Capitol Hill Club, where the event was held.

"Healthcare is a human right, Gov. Perry. Do what is right for Texas," shouted one woman, who said she was from Houston, before being escorted out of the event.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) told statehouse Republicans they should reject the Medicaid expansion that Gov. Rick Scott (R) has now endorsed, according to a report at National Review Online (NRO).

Bush addressed Medicaid during a visit earlier this month that was primarily centered on education reform, NRO reported.

“He said that rejecting the Obamacare expansion was good policy, and told them to come up with some conservative alternatives," a source told the magazine.

A Republican proposal to reform Medicaid would ration care for one-third of U.S. kids, advocates said Friday.

First Focus, a bipartisan group, responded to the idea of per-capita Medicaid caps floated by Senate Finance Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.).

Hatch endorsed the policy last month as a way to reduce the deficit. Per-capita caps would limit Medicaid spending based on a beneficiary's health condition and eligibility category — child, senior, disabled person, and so on. 

Tavenner nomination could face resistance from healthcare law foes [free registration required]

Grassley calls for consideration of Tavenner's nomination

Feds reject Miss. proposal on state-run exchange

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday became the sixth Republican governor to back the Medicaid expansion in President Obama's signature healthcare law. That brings to 21 the total number of states where governors have said they intend to plow ahead with the expansion.

Snyder's choice comes after significant pressure from consumer advocates in his state. And it's the latest in a string of high-profile losses for conservative activists who have pushed GOP governors to resist the Medicaid expansion. High-profile defections from that hardline position also include Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and, most recently, Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

“It’s a win for all," Snyder reportedly said as he announced his long-awaited decision, noting that the federal government initially covers the entire cost of the expansion.

Healthwatch has more.

GOP hits employment numbers: House Republicans are making hay over yesterday's report from the Congressional Budget Office, and specifically its finding that 7 million fewer people will get healthcare through an employer by 2022. The House Education and the Workforce Committee noted the finding in a press release Wednesday, arguing that "the president’s government takeover of health care is forcing more Americans out of employer-provided health care and hitting job creators with higher taxes."

Abortion wars resume: Just as progressives notched a win in Michigan with Snyder's Medicaid decision, a Republican in the state legislature revived a controversial proposal to require a transvaginal ultrasound before a woman can obtain an abortion. Transvaginal ultrasounds were also at the center of an abortion firestorm last year in Virginia, where Gov. Bob McDonnell (R ) ultimately killed it. Talking Points Memo has more on the Michigan bill.

Read more...

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will embrace the Medicaid expansion in President Obama's signature healthcare law — the latest Republican to buck party leaders who have pressed governors hard to resist the expansion.

The Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday that Snyder will back the expansion in the budget he delivers to the state legislature the next day. The expansion will give roughly 470,000 Michigan residents access to Medicaid, the newspaper reported.

President Obama's top economic adviser said that the White House will accept a fight on Medicare in order to protect Medicaid from cuts — a promise that is winning fast praise from advocates for the low-income health insurance program. Gene Sperling made the remark Thursday at a conference organized by Families USA, a liberal advocacy group, saying that even Medicaid cuts endorsed by the administration in the past will no longer be on the table as a series of fiscal deadlines approach.

The National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems responded, saying the commitment "is welcome news for the millions of people who rely on the safety net for essential healthcare services." And Planned Parenthood Federation of America praised Obama for understanding that "for millions of women, cuts to [Medicaid] could mean the difference between getting cancer screenings and birth control, or going without." The news will also be welcome to liberal lawmakers who have called for preserving Medicaid's budget during tense negotiations with Republicans.

Sperling did acknowledge Thursday that protecting Medicaid will increase pressure to cut Medicare. Read more about his remarks here, and for more coverage of the Families conference, check out The Hill's Healthwatch. Gary Cohen with Health and Human Services (HHS) said the federal insurance exchange will be ready to go in eight months. Anton Gunn, HHS director of External Affairs, said officials have stopped using the term "exchanges" to describe part of the healthcare law because the word doesn't translate well in Spanish. And Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) also spoke.

Clancy to step down: Carolyn Clancy is leaving her post as director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), where she had worked since 2003. The news garnered kudos for Clancy from groups like Research!America and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Read more...

The White House is willing to make bigger Medicare cuts in order to protect Medicaid, senior economic adviser Gene Sperling said Thursday.

Sperling said the White House is no longer willing to make even the Medicaid cuts it had previously supported, but acknowledged that puts more pressure on Medicare.

“We are not willing to accept even the Medicaid savings that we had once put on the table … Medicaid savings, Medicaid cuts, for this administration, are not on the table,” Sperling said at a conference organized by the advocacy group Families USA.