Advocacy groups are asking the Trump administration to stop approving states’ changes to the Medicaid program until it addresses issues raised in a government oversight report.
The report, issued in February by the Government Accountability Office, concluded that the federal government did not evaluate changes that states made to the Medicaid program in a timely or complete way, and that it failed to make the evaluations public when it did.
The changes to Medicaid, granted through waivers approved by the administration, can involve a range of policies, whether allowing states to cover more treatment for addiction or allowing them to set up work requirements for people who are enrolled in the program.
The advocacy groups that sent the letter on Wednesday oppose the work requirement waivers in particular, which were not allowed before the Trump administration. Kentucky, New Hampshire, Arkansas, and Indiana have had work requirements accepted, but legal battles are ahead and opponents say the requirements will result in people becoming uninsured.
In their letter, sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, advocacy groups asked for a halt on approving waivers that “have the effect of limiting eligibility, reducing enrollment, or curtailing program benefits.”
The letter was signed by more than 70 state and national organizations, including the pro-Obamacare group Families USA, the National Health Law Program, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Diabetes Association, the Children’s Defense Fund, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has been working on a “scorecard” to help evaluate how well Medicaid is working.
