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As congressional Republicans move forward on plans to quickly repeal and ― less …
GOP Governors Privately Urging Congress To Reconsider Full Obamacare Repeal
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GOP Governors Privately Urging Congress To Reconsider Full Obamacare Repeal
They warn that their states would suffer, in some cases badly, without the Medicaid expansion.
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As
congressional Republicans move forward on plans to quickly repeal and ―
less quickly ― replace President Barack Obama’s health care law, a wide
variety of industry and political influencers are trying to slow their
progress. Among the most persuasive may be a set of Republican governors
who are fearful about losing the substantial health and monetary
benefits from the law that their states currently enjoy.
On Friday morning, Politico reported
on five such GOP governors who have been publicly calling on lawmakers
to consider keeping the portion of the Affordable Care Act that supports
the expansion of Medicaid in states that choose to.
Behind
the scenes, these same governors are also working to persuade lawmakers
from their states and those who have purview over the repeal and
replace strategy that it would be wise to keep some portion of the federal matching funds for states that have pursued Medicaid expansion.
Ohio
Gov. John Kasich (R), for one, is set to meet with Senate Finance
Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) as well as other committee
members next week to discuss his concerns about full repeal, a source
close to Kasich confirmed. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), meanwhile, has
been in talks with members of Michigan’s delegation as well as
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition staff about maintaining his
state’s Medicaid expansion program.
“He
also has been open to discussing with them other ideas they may have
regarding changes to the ACA,” Snyder spokesman Ari Adler said. “Too
often, it seems that the ACA gets reported on as an all-or-nothing
package, but there are many separate components that exist. In
Michigan’s case, we took the idea of Medicaid expansion, made it our
own, improved it and made it work better. But, as you know, everything
is up for discussion and the Governor is happy to have those
discussions.”
Kasich
and Snyder aren’t the only Republican governors who run states that
have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Nor are they the
only ones who have warned about the potential losses in coverage or
budgetary holes that might come if the law is repealed. GOP Govs.
Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Brian
Sandoval of Nevada have offered similar concerns.
Democratic
governors from Medicaid-expansion states have also been in touch with
their congressional delegations in hopes of convincing them to pump the
brakes on ACA repeal.
Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf (D) told The Huffington Post that he’s sent
individualized letters to each member of the delegation detailing the
consequences for their districts and state of taking Obamacare off the
books: chief among them being 700,000 Pennsylvanians potentially losing
their coverage, community hospitals facing a massive financial crunch
and a drop in services for those dealing with substance abuse. For the
past few weeks, Wolf has also barnstormed the state, meeting with health
care officials and constituents dependent on the law, to discuss what a
post-Obamacare landscape would look like. It is those conversations ―
and the subsequent ability to convey the real-world impact of repeal ―
he said, that made him and other governors effective advocates for
trying to keep parts (if not all) of Obamacare in place.
“I
think all they [Kasich and Snyder] are doing is what a good lobbyist is
supposed to do which is explain the facts,” Wolf said. “We are telling
our delegations, ‘Here are the facts. This is what is going to happen.
Are you willing to face those consequences if you do this?’”
So
far, Republican lawmakers appear to be willing to face those
consequences. As HuffPost’s Matt Fuller reported, the House appears
poised to have a majority of lawmakers supporting wiping Obamacare
off the books. The dynamics in the Senate are less certain, since all
Democrats need to do (assuming they vote uniformly) is convince three
Republicans to cross the aisle. But with Trump now fully embracing
repeal, lawmakers on the Hill feel additional pressure to place their
focus on the replacement instead.
Should
it get to that point, there is a possibility that some of the Medicaid
expansion may be restored, albeit in a reduced size and scope (think:
coverage for those up to 80 or 100 percent of the poverty line, rather
than 133.). But while that might attract Democratic votes, it wouldn’t
be a simple legislative gambit. Lawmakers would need to find a way to
pay for it. And keeping items like the reductions in Medicare spending
and some of the Affordable Care Act’s tax hikes would prove to be far
less politically popular.
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