Title: Expressing disapproval of the Trump administration’s harmful actions towards Medicaid.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should withdraw recent guidance regarding the approval of block grants under Medicaid demonstration waivers.
On January 30, 2020, the CMS issued guidance allowing states to apply for capped block grants through Medicaid demonstration waivers, particularly in order to cover services for the Medicaid expansion population (i.e., adults under the age of 65). The guidance also allows states that receive such block grants to make other changes to their programs (e.g., formularies for prescription drugs).

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 826 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 826

 Expressing disapproval of the Trump administration's harmful actions 
                           towards Medicaid.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 2020

 Mr. Veasey submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing disapproval of the Trump administration's harmful actions 
                           towards Medicaid.

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;
Whereas Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term services and supports, 
        including those provided in community-based settings;
Whereas the opioid epidemic has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and 
        Medicaid provides access to evidence-based 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 
        Medicaid 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;

    (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 the 
        care of the millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid.
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