U.S. Sen. Bob Casey urges Trump to keep campaign promises

Feb. 28--WILKES-BARRE -- U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has enlisted the help of a former Marine to help wage what he sees as a battle to keep Medicaid intact.

Casey, D-Scranton, discussed Tuesday the potential impact of GOP plans to "destroy" Medicaid by turning it into a block grant program.

Joe McGrath, a former Marine from Lafayette Hill, Montgomery County, will be Casey's guest to Tuesday night's presidential address -- President Donald Trump's first joint address of Congress. McGrath is living with Parkinson's disease, and he has a daughter with Down syndrome.

Casey, an ardent opponent of GOP block-granting proposals, stressed the importance of keeping protections in place for millions of Americans.

According to the website -- familiesusa.org -- a "block grant" is a fixed amount of money that the federal government gives to a state for a specific purpose. If Medicaid was turned into a block grant, the federal government would set each state's Medicaid spending amount in advance. That amount would presumably be based on some estimate of state Medicaid spending, but most block-grant proposals start with significant cuts in federal Medicaid support.

The website states that if a state's costs exceed the amount of the block grant, it will have to use its own funds to make up the difference, or, more likely, cut services for low-income residents.

According to the website: Counter to what proponents claim, block grants don't give states more flexibility with their Medicaid programs. Block grants would make it harder for states to serve their residents' health care needs.

McGrath, who spent 29 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, said he is glad to have Casey as his daughter's voice to protect her health care benefits.

Casey said he hopes Trump keeps his campaign promise that he will not block grant Medicaid.

"It's a bad idea," Casey said. "It's bad for children with a disability, it's bad for folks trying to get into nursing homes, and it's bad for children in rural areas who need health care."

McGrath's said his daughter, Maura, 21, is non-verbal and she is not potty-trained. McGrath said he fears she will lose many benefits she relies upon to live comfortably and with good care.

"Maura is the light of my life," McGrath said. "Block granting Medicaid would be devastating for her."

McGrath said Medicaid provides diapers for her and a home health aide.

"If it wasn't for the aide, I don't know how we would have made it," McGrath said.

Casey said because of a new administration in the White House, there are concerns about several issues. He said there will be many decisions made as Congress wrestles with its budget.

"These decisions are about real life," Casey said. "This is no longer theory. The block grant will pass unless we do something. And if the president doesn't keep his campaign promise,he will sign it into law."

Casey said he is at "zero compromise" when it comes to block granting Medicaid.

"If you care about kids, people with disabilities and senior citizens, you can't vote for this," Casey said.

Medicaid, now in its 50th year, is the federal program that provides health insurance to low-income and disabled Americans. It could be in for a major overhaul if the Republican-controlled Congress has its way.

The Trump administration has pledged to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, but it remains to be seen how Trump feels about block granting Medicaid.

Casey said Medicaid has "two speeding trains headed for it: full ACA repeal and block granting of Medicaid." He said the idea should be "thrown in the trash heap where it belongs."

Casey said Trump vowed during the campaign that he wouldn't touch Medicaid along with Medicare and Social Security.

Casey's office said nearly 2.8 million Pennsylvanians received Medicaid or other public health care benefits excluding Medicare.

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