Blog: Senate Republicans must figure Medicaid expansion beneficiaries don't vote
Skip to main content
MDHC_Logotype_white
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • This Week's News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition
    • Biden unveils $1.9T plan to stem virus and steady economy
      HHS removes some requirements for opioid treatment prescribing
      Verma: CMS tried to ‘infuse' free-market competition across healthcare during Trump era
      CMS finalizes rule to revamp ACA exchanges
    • Biden unveils $1.9T plan to stem virus and steady economy
      Nursing home staff COVID-19 vaccination: A work in progress
      California hospitals prepare ethical protocol to prioritize lifesaving care
      Expanded vaccine rollout in U.S. spawns a new set of problems
    • The Check Up: Trenda Ray
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      Trenda Ray
      Q&A: Arkansas nursing leader looking for creative staffing solutions as COVID cases surge
      Cook Lydia 4x6_i.jpg
      Northeast Ohio health systems increase community benefit values in 2019
      Vaccine rollout hits snag as health workers balk at shots
    • COVID-19 still a big uncertainty for insurers in 2021
      Health insurers' outlook boosted after Dems' Georgia win
      humana_i.jpg
      Humana supports Ohio not-for-profits with $500,000
      BlueCrossBlueShieldSign-main_i_i_i.jpg
      Michigan Blues to change pharmacy benefit manager from Express Scripts to OptumRx
    • Verma: CMS tried to ‘infuse' free-market competition across healthcare during Trump era
      CMS axes MFAR rule for good
      MedPAC votes to boost hospital payments, freeze or cut other providers
    • Operation Warp Speed to bump up McKesson's stock price
      Reporter's notebook: J.P. Morgan's 2021 health conference
      Hospitals, nursing homes get more time to file cost reports
      Hospitals' 2020 fundraising on pace to top 2019
    • 5 things to know about Google's $2.1B Fitbit acquisition
      Providence bets on machine-learning, consolidating data centers
      Mental health treatment was most common telehealth service during COVID
      Broad, Verily take Terra bioinformatics platform to Microsoft Azure cloud
    • Chance of COVID-19 triage care looms over Arizona hospitals
      U.S. ramps up vaccinations to get doses to more Americans
      367146427.jpg
      Should businesses mandate that staff get the COVID vaccine?
      A provider wearing a mask putting on surgical gloves.
      And the Shkreli Awards go to …
    • Tower Health's finance chief resigning after years of steep losses
      AHRQ director Gopal Khanna resigns in response to Capitol riot
      Brigham president stepping down after Moderna controversy
      Meghan Joyce
      Oscar COO Meghan Joyce describes her management approach
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • InDepth Special Reports
    • Innovations
    • The Affordable Care Act after 10 years
    • New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      doctor with patient
      COVID-19 treatment protocol developed in the field helps patients recover
      Rachel Wyatt
      Project to curb pressure injuries in hospitals shows promise
      Yale New Haven's COVID-19 nurse-staffing model has long-term benefits
    • Dr. James Hildreth
      How medical education can help fight racism
      Modern Healthcare InDepth: Breaking the bias that impedes better healthcare
      Videos: Healthcare industry executives describe their encounters with racism
      Michellene Davis
      Healthcare leadership lacks the racial diversity needed to reduce health disparities
      Hospital divided into multiple pieces
      Health systems may be warming to offshoring, a mainstay practice for insurers
    • A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
      self service station
      COVID-19 pushes patient expectations toward self-service
      Targeting high-risk cancer patients with genetics
      A nurse holds up a phone with a message to a family member saying surgery has started.
      Texting, tablets help hospitals keep family updated on patient care
  • Transformation
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Highmark Health inks six-year cloud, tech deal with Google
      Study: 1 in 5 patients report discrimination when getting healthcare
      HHS proposes changing HIPAA privacy rules
      Android health records app launches at 230 health systems
    • California hospitals prepare ethical protocol to prioritize lifesaving care
      Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway disband Haven
      Digital pathways poised to reshape healthcare continuum in 2021
      Healthcare was the hardest hit by supply shortages across all U.S. industries
    • A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
      New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      How hospitals are building on COVID-19 telehealth momentum
      Researchers: Hospital price variation exacerbates health inequities
    • MedPAC votes to boost hospital payments, freeze or cut other providers
      Most Next Gen ACOs achieved bonuses in 2019
      Congress recalibrates Medicare Physician Fee Schedule after lobbying
      CMS approves rule to encourage value-based drug pricing
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
    • Health Systems Financials
      Executive Compensation
      Physician Compensation
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
    • Wellstar CEO calls adapting for the pandemic her bold move
      Howard P. Kern
      Recognizing the value of telehealth in its infancy
      Dr. Stephen Markovich
      A bold move helped take him from family doctor to OhioHealth CEO
      Dr. Bruce Siegel
      Why taking a hospital not-for-profit was Dr. Bruce Siegel’s boldest move
    • Barry Ostrowsky
      Ending racism is a journey taken together; the starting point must be now
      Laura Lee Hall and Gary Puckrein
      Increased flu vaccination has never been more important for communities of color
      John Daniels Jr.
      Health equity: Making the journey from buzzword to reality
      Mark C. Clement and David Cook
      We all need to 'do something' to fight inequities and get healthcare right, for every patient, every time
    • Healing healthcare: some ideas for triage by the new Congress, administration
      Dr. Sachin H. Jain
      Medicare for All? The better route to universal coverage would be Medicare Advantage for All
      Connectivity: a social determinant of health that can exacerbate all the others
      Taking my shot at building trust
    • Letters: Eliminating bias in healthcare needs to be ‘deliberate and organic’
      Letters: Maybe dropping out of ACOs is a good thing for patients
      Letters: White House and Congress share blame for lack of national COVID strategy
      Letters: VA making strides to improve state veterans home inspections
    • Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      How blockchain could ease frustration with the payment process
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Three steps to better data-sharing for payer and provider CIOs
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Reduce total cost of care: 6 reasons why providers and payers should tackle the challenge together
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Why CIOs went from back-office operators to mission-critical innovators
  • Awards
    • Award Programs
    • Nominate
    • Previous Award Programs
    • Other Award Programs
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare Logo for Navigation
      Nominations Open - Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      Nominations Open - Health Care Hall of Fame
      Nominations Open - 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders
    • Top 25 Women Leaders
    • Excellence in Nursing Awards
    • Design Awards
    • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
    • 100 Top Hospitals
    • ACHE Awards
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Webinars
    • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Healthcare Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Workplace of the Future Conference
    • Strategic Marketing Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala (2022)
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Carter Dredge
      Next Up Podcast: Ready, set, innovate! Innovation and disruption in healthcare
      Next Up Podcast: COVID-19, social determinants highlight health inequities — what next?
      Ceci Connolly
      Next Up Podcast: How to navigate the murky post-election waters
      Next Up Podcast: Saving Rural Health
    • An older man wearing a mask receiving a vaccine.
      Beyond the Byline: Verifying information on the chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout
      doctor burnout
      Beyond the Byline: How healthcare supply chain struggles contribute to employee burnout
      Beyond the Byline: Covering race and diversity in the healthcare industry
      Beyond the Byline: How telehealth utilization has impacted investor-owned company earnings
    • Leading intention promote diversity and inclusion
      Introducing Healthcare Insider Podcast
    • The Check Up: Trenda Ray
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      The Check Up: Dr. Kenneth Davis
      The Check Up: Dr. Kenneth Davis of Mount Sinai Health System
      The Check Up: Dr. Thomas McGinn
      The Check Up: Dr. Thomas McGinn of CommonSpirit Health
      The Check Up: Mark Ganz
      The Check Up: Mark Ganz of Cambia Health Solutions
    • Video: Ivana Naeymi Rad of Intelligent Medical Objects
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Government
December 01, 2015 12:00 AM

Blog: Senate Republicans must figure Medicaid expansion beneficiaries don't vote

Harris Meyer
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    Senate Republican leaders apparently have persuaded wavering GOP senators from Medicaid expansion states to support a fast-track bill that would repeal Medicaid expansion along with most of the rest of the Affordable Care Act.

    They must be calculating that people who have benefited from the expansion don't vote.

    The so-called reconciliation bill, which may be voted on Thursday, reportedly would phase out the expansion of coverage over two years to low-income adults with incomes up to 138% of poverty.

    The bill was crafted to win the support of a trio of conservative senators who demanded a more complete ACA repeal than the House version offered. It also would kill the ACA's premium subsidies for buying private insurance, along with the medical-device tax and the so-called Cadillac tax on high-value employer health plans. The legislation, which will certainly be vetoed by President Barack Obama, would at last fulfill the Republican promise to pass a bill killing the ACA. The Republicans will not be able to muster a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override Obama's veto.

    Thirty states plus the District of Columbia have agreed to the Medicaid expansion; Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program coverage grew by more than 14 million, largely due to the ACA, according to a new report from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.

    Republican senators from some states that have expanded Medicaid previously expressed reservations about repealing the Medicaid coverage expansion, which has benefited thousands of their constituents and been strongly supported by hospital and business groups.

    “I am very concerned about the 160,000 people who had Medicaid expansion in my state. I have difficulty with that being included,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told The Hill newspaper.

    Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told The Hill, “I respect the decision of our legislators and our governor on Medicaid expansion.”

    But after doing some serious arm-twisting last weekend, GOP leaders are expressing confidence they have won over the holdouts and can deliver the 51 votes needed to pass the reconciliation bill. Capito's office says the West Virginia senator is now prepared to vote yes on the ACA repeal bill, including the phase out of federal funding for Medicaid expansion. A Capito spokeswoman noted that the Senate bill would establish “a transitional period to allow for alternative reforms to come into play.” The spokeswoman added that Capito would like to see “alternative reforms that improve access and lower costs without disrupting coverage.”

    Of course, it's not clear what those “alternative reforms” would look like exactly under a Republican president and GOP-controlled Congress in 2017. Republicans generally talk about turning Medicaid into a capped block-grant program that would give states a fixed amount of money and offer them great flexibility to determine who is eligible for the program and what benefits to cover. Advocates for Medicaid patients warn that under that proposal, fewer people would be covered by skimpier benefit plans, and they would be required to pay more out of pocket.

    A spokeswoman for Daines said the Montana senator will support the GOP reconciliation bill repealing Medicaid. While he respects his state's decision to expand the program, the spokeswoman said Daines has “concerns about the long-term sustainability” of the expansion “and is wary of programs that increase the power Washington may have over the states.” In Montana, an estimated 55,000 people are eligible for expanded Medicaid.

    There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), whose state also has expanded Medicaid and who also previously expressed doubts about repealing the Medicaid expansion. In North Dakota, an estimated 19,000 people are eligible for expanded Medicaid.

    Nor were there immediate responses from Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) or Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), whose states expanded Medicaid and who both face tough re-election contests in 2016. Illinois has an estimated 572,000 people eligible for expansion, while Ohio has an estimated 454,000 eligible.

    Voting to repeal the ACA's Medicaid expansion also could cause political headaches for GOP incumbents in close races in other Medicaid expansion states such as Pennsylvania (379,000 eligible) and New Hampshire (35,000 eligible). Their Democratic opponents undoubtedly would run campaign ads saying they voted to take away people's healthcare.

    Nearly a third of the 30 states that have expanded Medicaid did so under Republican leadership, and GOP leaders in several other states, such as Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, are discussing expansion. Two GOP presidential candidates, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, have supported expansions in their states. The state expansions have brought billions of federal dollars into those states, significantly reduced the uninsured rate, and financially boosted the healthcare industry.

    The GOP senators from Medicaid-expansion states who plan to vote for this repeal must be hoping that the tens of thousands of constituents who may lose their coverage don't vote. They may be thinking about last month's Kentucky gubernatorial election, in which Republican Matt Bevin, who vowed to roll back his state's Medicaid expansion, easily defeated a Democrat who promised to protect it.

    Even though the expansion extended coverage to about 425,000 Kentuckians and helped halve the state's uninsured rate, many of those who benefited from the expansion in poor communities such as eastern Kentucky didn't vote. According to a New York Times report last week, many Medicaid patients didn't even know that the issue of taking away their coverage was being discussed.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Verma: CMS tried to ‘infuse' free-market competition across healthcare during Trump era
    Verma: CMS tried to ‘infuse' free-market competition across healthcare during Trump era
    HHS to distribute $22 billion to aid COVID-19 testing, vaccination
    HHS to distribute $22 billion to aid COVID-19 testing, vaccination
    Sponsored Content
    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up for free enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today

    The weekly magazine, websites, research and databases provide a powerful and all-encompassing industry presence. We help you make informed business decisions and lead your organizations to success.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Instagram

    Stay Connected

    Join the conversation with Modern Healthcare through our social media pages

    MDHC_Logotype_white
    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • This Week's News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • InDepth Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Transformation
      • Patients
      • Operations
      • Care Delivery
      • Payment
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Award Programs
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders
        • Top 25 Women Leaders
      • Nominate
      • Previous Award Programs
        • Excellence in Nursing Awards
        • Design Awards
        • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
      • Other Award Programs
        • 100 Top Hospitals
        • ACHE Awards
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Healthcare Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Workplace of the Future Conference
        • Strategic Marketing Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala (2022)
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Webinars
      • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing