Planned Medicaid Overhaul Could Put GOP Governors in an Awkward Spot
Confused about Medicare / Medicaid issues? Ask the experts at The Firm Services Wall Street Journal -By STEPHANIE ARMOUR Nov. 24, 2016 8:00 a.m. ET WASHINGTON—Republicans set on rapidly dismantling the Affordable Care Act are also pushing an overhaul of Medicaid, whose expansion under the 2010 law has covered millions of low-income Americans—many in states run by GOP governors. President-elect Donald Trump has proposed converting the federal-state program into block grants to the states in an effort to give them more latitude over how the program is run. This would jibe with many leading Republicans in Congress, who for years have wanted a Medicaid overhaul that hands more control over to the states. But such a move is likely to expose divisions among Republicans over how significantly to peel back coverage protections for the more than 12 million people who gained Medicaid in the 31 states, as well as Washington, D.C., that expanded the program. “Right now a lot of Republican governors expanded Medicaid and they have said they will fight to keep it,” said Caroline Pearson, a senior vice president at Avalere Health, a consulting firm. “You have to assume there will be some need for a solution for the 20 million who are better off under ACA, and most are in Medicaid.” Republicans are still in conversations about the shape and timing of any possible changes to the program. Any revisions would likely include a sunset or transition period, which would help people now covered through the expansion. It would also give states time to meet and plan for any changes, health policy analysts said. Meanwhile, the talk of an overhaul has left governors in a state of flux. South Dakota [...]