Not only does the Senate’s version of the bill roll back expansion of the program, it fundamentally changes aspects of it that will have ripple effects through the entire country.
The New York Times:
For Millions, Life Without Medicaid Services Is No Option
Frances Isbell has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disorder that has left her unable to walk or even roll over in bed. But Ms. Isbell has a personal care assistant through Medicaid, and the help allowed her to go to law school at the University of Alabama here. She will graduate next month. She hopes to become a disability rights lawyer — “I’d love to see her on the Supreme Court someday,” her aide, Christy Robertson, said, tearing up with emotion as Ms. Isbell prepared to study for the bar exam in her apartment last week — but staying independent will be crucial to her professional future. (Goodnough, 7/1)
Politico:
How Health Care Bill Could Hurt A Program Beloved In Trump Country
One of the unintended effects of the Senate’s Obamacare repeal bill would be to slash money that pays for a project popular among Republicans — using long-distance video hookups called telemedicine to connect sick kids in rural schools to big-city medical experts. (Pittman, 7/3)
WSKG:
Medicaid A Safety Net For This Upstate New York Couple
Barb and Louie Emerson live in the Finger Lakes region of New York and they have their share of health problems… Due to their low income, the couple qualify for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of the program. (Jaspers, 7/4)
Politico:
How The GOP Medicaid Overhaul Could Become The Next Fiscal Cliff
The Senate health care bill, if it becomes law, would set in motion a massive rollback of Medicaid funding beginning in three years. But even some Republican supporters acknowledge the full cuts might never happen. Instead, they say it could become another Washington fiscal cliff, where lawmakers go to the brink of radical spending changes only to pull back — or have their successors pull back — just before the point of inflicting real pain in the face of intense pressure. (Haberkorn and Pradhan, 7/3)
Georgia Health News:
Pediatricians Worry About What Senate Bill Would Do To Medicaid
Two of three Medicaid beneficiaries in Georgia are children. The national average is lower, with 43 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries being kids, but the numbers are still huge. So when cuts to the government program are proposed, as is the case with Republican health care legislation in Congress, many pediatricians become alarmed. (Miller, 7/4)
The Associated Press Fact Check:
When A Swoopy Line On A Chart Misleads
Oh, those charts. President Donald Trump passed one around on Twitter in recent days, and it showing spending on Medicaid rising for years in the future under the stalled Republican health care bill. You’d never know from his chart’s mountain-climbing line , or his rhetoric, that the bill would inflict deep cuts in the program. (7/1)
This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.