Trying to allay concerns about possible cuts to Medicaid expansion, Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Rep. Tom Price said on Wednesday that the Trump administration “absolutely must ensure that individuals don’t fall through the cracks in whatever transition occurs.”
Price made his response after Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, talked about Alaska’s particular healthcare situation. Under Obamacare, the state only has one insurer in its exchange, but it also expanded its Medicaid program – which several GOP governors fear may be cut if block grants are used.
“The Medicaid system is one that is absolutely imperative and vital for members of our population who receive their care through the Medicaid program,” Price told the committee. “And it’s a federal-state partnership, as you well know, and it’s one that we absolutely must ensure that individuals don’t fall through the cracks in whatever transition occurs.”
“So, whether it’s retaining the same level of Medicaid participation, or whether it’s providing an option for something else that allows them coverage that suits their needs, we are committed and adamant that that coverage be able to be continued,” he went on to say.
“They have our assurance that we will work with you to make certain that happens.” President-elect Donald Trump previously mentioned in his healthcare platform that he would “block-grant Medicaid to the states” as a matter of flexibility and reducing wasteful spending. This reflects other Republican plans for healthcare reform, such as Paul Ryan’s “A Better Way” program. But Democrats have opposed block grants in the past, saying that this would lead to decreased coverage among the poor.
