Trump Budget Slashes Medicaid Funding, Rejecting Some Conservatives’ Pleas To Save Expansion
The White House also wants to give states more flexibility when it comes to imposing work requirements for people in the program.
The Washington Post:
Trump To Propose Big Cuts To Safety-Net In New Budget, Slashing Medicaid And Opening Door To Other Limits
President Trump’s first major budget proposal on Tuesday will include massive cuts to Medicaid and call for changes to anti-poverty programs that would give states new power to limit a range of benefits, people familiar with the planning said, despite growing unease in Congress about cutting the safety net. For Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health care to low-income Americans, Trump’s budget plan would follow through on a bill passed by House Republicans to cut more than $800 billion over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this could cut off Medicaid benefits for about 10 million people over the next decade. (Paletta, 5/21)
In other national health care news —
The Associated Press:
Senate Republicans Quietly Working On Health Overhaul Bill
Remember the Republican health care bill? Washington is fixated on President Donald Trump's firing of FBI chief James Comey and burgeoning investigations into possible connections between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia. But in closed-door meetings, Senate Republicans are trying to write legislation dismantling President Barack Obama's health care law. (Fram, 5/22)
Politico:
Trump Tells Advisers He Wants To End Key Obamacare Subsidies
President Donald Trump has told advisers he wants to end payments of key Obamacare subsidies, a move that could send the health law's insurance markets into a tailspin, according to several sources familiar with the conversations. Many advisers oppose the move because they worry it would backfire politically if people lose their insurance or see huge premium spikes and blame the White House, the sources said. Trump has said that the bold move could force Congressional Democrats to the table to negotiate an Obamacare replacement. (Dawsey, Haberkorn and Demko, 5/19)
USA Today:
Obamacare Subsidies At Stake In Monday Court Hearing
A Monday court hearing offers the Trump administration its best opportunity to prevent significant increases in health care costs for about 7 million lower-income Americans who buy their plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The administration's next move could prevent these insurance marketplaces from imploding as insurers are deciding which states, if any, to sell insurance in and at what price. (O'Donnell, 5/19)
Politico:
McConnell Steps Into Obamacare Firing Line
Mitch McConnell has sidestepped the Russia controversy that’s dogged Donald Trump all year and eluded the wrath rained down on Paul Ryan over the GOP’s Obamacare repeal effort. But the health care reform battle is now squarely in McConnell’s court: He will decide the contents of the Senate’s plan, most likely behind closed doors. And he is on the hook for getting something through a sharply divided Senate Republican Conference in the midst of an increasingly imperiled presidency. (Everett and Haberkorn, 5/21)
The Washington Post:
Nearly 700 Vacancies At CDC Because Of Trump Administration’s Hiring Freeze
Nearly 700 positions are vacant at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of a continuing freeze on hiring that officials and researchers say affects programs supporting local and state public health emergency readiness, infectious disease control and chronic disease prevention. The same restriction remains in place throughout the Health and Human Services Department despite the lifting of a government-wide hiring freeze last month. At the National Institutes of Health, staff say clinical work, patient care and recruitment are suffering. (Sun, 5/19)
Stat:
Doctors Have Resisted Guidelines To Treat Sepsis. New Study Suggests Those Guidelines Save Lives
Even in the face of increased pressure from regulators, many doctors have failed to fully embrace early screening and treatment protocols for sepsis, an infection-related complication that afflicts tens of thousands of Americans every year and that can be life-threatening. Skeptics have argued that there haven’t been any comprehensive studies to support the notion that the protocols can actually save lives. On Sunday, however, the New England Journal of Medicine published a large study that could make doctors reconsider — and help hospitals address head-on one of the most common dangers their patients face. (Tedeschi, 5/21)