H. Res. 826 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

February 6, 2020. 

Whereas Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide comprehensive, quality health care 

to 71 million Americans and children; 

Whereas Medicaid expansion has provided coverage to millions of adults and reduced the uninsured rate for both 

adults and children; 

Whereas Medicaid is a lifeline for some of our most vulnerable populations, including children with complex medical 

needs, people living with disabilities, low-income seniors, 

and individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders; 

Whereas Medicaid expansion has improved access to diagnoses and treatment for people with life-threatening conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and substance 

use disorder; 

Whereas Medicaid expansion improves health outcomes and 

saves lives; 

Whereas research shows that Medicaid expansion has saved 

at least 19,000 lives since 2014; 

Whereas Medicaid is the largest payer of behavioral health 

services in the country; 
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Whereas Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term services 

and supports, including those provided in communitybased settings; 

Whereas the opioid epidemic has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and Medicaid provides access to evidencebased treatment for individuals struggling with opioid use 

disorder; 

Whereas researchers found that Medicaid expansion is linked 

to a 6-percent reduction in the opioid death rate, an 11- 

percent lower death rate for heroin, and a 10-percent 

lower death rate for fentanyl; 

Whereas Medicaid and CHIP play a key role in maternity 

services, pay for nearly half of all births in the United 

States, and provide access to prenatal and postpartum 

care; 

Whereas nearly all States and the District of Columbia provide Medicaid coverage to pregnant women with incomes 

higher than minimum Federal standards; 

Whereas maternal mortality rates have risen nationally and 

disproportionately affect women of color; 

Whereas access to health care can help prevent, detect, and 

treat conditions that put women at increased risk for 

pregnancy-related complications; 

Whereas research shows that Medicaid expansion improves 

postpartum care for women, reduces maternal and infant 

death, and reduces the likelihood a woman will experience 

a gap in coverage; 

Whereas rural hospitals are closing at an alarming rate, jeopardizing access to care for the 20 percent of Americans 

who live in rural areas, including 13,000,000 children, 

and research has found that States that expanded Med-
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icaid had fewer rural hospital closures, and that rural 

hospitals in those States experienced improved financial 

performance; 

Whereas Medicaid expansion reduces medical debt for individuals receiving coverage, which improves their individual 

and family financial security; 

Whereas once in office, President Trump has gone further 

than any President in the history of the program to make 

life harder for working families who rely on Medicaid for 

their health and well-being; 

Whereas the President has waged an unrelenting war on 

Medicaid, making it easier for States to take coverage 

away and create barriers for reenrollment; 

Whereas, on President Trump’s watch, the number of uninsured children has increased, reversing years of declines, 

largely as a result of substantial losses in Medicaid coverage for children—many of whom remain eligible; 

Whereas under President Trump, over 1,000,000 children 

have lost Medicaid and CHIP coverage and over 750,000 

adults have lost Medicaid coverage; and 

Whereas, despite President Trump’s campaign promise that 

he would ‘‘save Medicaid’’, his administration has— 

(1) issued guidance to allow States to cap their Medicaid funding through a block grant, putting the financial 

viability of the States’ programs at risk and taking coverage and access to health care away from our citizens; 

(2) proposed regulations to roll back access standards put in place to ensure beneficiaries receive the care 

they need; 
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(3) issued guidance to allow State Medicaid programs to restrict access to prescription drugs by adopting 

closed formularies; 

(4) proposed massive, annually compounding cuts in 

Federal funding to the program in direct contradiction to 

an explicit campaign promise; and 

(5) allowed States to institute policies that have resulted in people improperly losing Medicaid coverage: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

(1) the illegal actions taken by the Trump administration to undermine the Medicaid program, including 

beneficiary protections, are a cruel attack on a program 

that provides for the health and well-being for some of 

our most vulnerable citizens; 

(2) the Trump administration should immediately 

withdraw its illegal block grant guidance and cease its 

campaign to undermine and weaken Medicaid; and 

(3) the Trump administration should uphold its responsibility to faithfully execute the law, including the 

Medicaid Act, and cease any and all efforts that threaten 
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the care of the millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid. 

Attest: 

Clerk.