Democrats threaten Medicaid, Too
Originally appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tuesday, July 05, 2011 After a public outcry stopped the Republican plan to radically transform Medicare, a new threat to our health care is coming, this time from a surprising direction. In the negotiations with Republicans about raising the debt ceiling, the Obama administration has proposed new rules for federal matching of state expenditures for Medicaid — we call it “medical assistance” in Pennsylvania — and CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program. These rules are troubling. They would lead to substantial cuts in federal support programs that provide health care to low-income children and parents, people with disabilities and senior citizens, including the 62 percent of seniors in Pennsylvania whose nursing home care is paid for by medical assistance. States now receive different matching rates for different groups of people. The federal government pays 50 percent to 75 percent of the costs for people currently… Continue reading