Pennsylvania Democratic Party Issues Statement on Trump Administration Medicaid Block Grant Plan

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, Jan. 31 -- The Pennsylvania Democratic Party issued the following statement by spokesperson Andres Anzola:

Yesterday, despite promises to protect Pennsylvania's children and families, the Trump Administration rolled out a new Medicaid block grant program -- a move that risks cutting coverage while raising costs for Pennsylvanians.

"Trump continues to attack families' health care and this desperate rebrand doesn't change that. His plan will still spike costs and slash coverage."

"Instead of appeasing wealthy special interests, the President should remember his promises to the hardworking Pennsylvanians that rely on earned benefits like Medicaid.

"We will continue to hold him accountable for his ongoing assault on working families."

BACKGROUND:

Trump broke his promise that he wouldn't cut Medicaid.

Trump: "I'm not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I'm not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid."

The Trump administration knows how unpopular and hurtful it is to cut Medicaid. Now they are trying to rebrand their efforts to fool the American people -- it won't work.

Politico: "The Trump administration will rebrand its Medicaid block grant program and look to safeguard the policy against an expected wave of legal challenges from patient advocates. ... The forthcoming block grant program comes with a new name -- 'Healthy Adult Opportunity' -- but retains the original mission long sought by conservatives: allowing states to cap a portion of their spending on Medicaid, a radical change in how the safety net health program is financed."

Trump's proposal takes aim at Medicaid expansion, which has been credited with improving health outcomes, including reducing opioid overdose deaths.

The Hill: "A new study finds that Medicaid expansion improved people's health in Southern states, resulting in fewer declines in people's health. The study published in Health Affairs finds that Medicaid expansion made declines in health status 1.8 percentage points less likely in states that expanded the medical coverage."

Vox: "Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, which gave millions of low-income adults access to health insurance, was linked to a 6 percent reduction in opioid overdose death rates -- potentially preventing thousands of deaths -- according to a new study in JAMA Network Open."

Trump clearly hasn't learned anything from his past failed attempts to push this reckless policy, which voters overwhelmingly oppose.

Washington Post: "Medicaid block grants are a longstanding GOP priority. Congressional Republicans included the concept in 2017 legislation to repeal and replace the ACA, although they were never able to pass those bills."

Protect Our Care Poll: "Despite Trump's campaign promise to oppose cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, he proposed a budget that makes these cuts after he already gave new tax breaks to big corporations. 60% of voters say they oppose Trump's proposed Medicaid cuts, 72% say they oppose the Medicare cuts and 50% of voters say they're less likely to vote for him because of these proposed cuts."