- Kasich: House GOP Medicaid Plan 'Very Bad Idea' The Hill by Peter Sullivan—Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Sunday criticized the House Republicans' plan to phase out Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid. "That is a very, very bad idea, because we cannot turn our back on the most vulnerable. We can give them the coverage, reform the program, save some money and make sure that we live in a country where people are going to say, 'At least somebody is looking out for me.'"
- GOP Governors Confront Medicaid Divide The Hill by Peter Sullivan—Governors are descending on Washington this weekend as Republicans wrestle with the future of Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid. GOP lawmakers say they are looking to governors for advice on what to do about the program, which is one of the toughest issues Republicans face as they look to repeal and replace the healthcare law. Many of the lawmakers representing states that accepted the Medicaid expansion are looking to keep it.
- Federal Block Grants Have Been a Big Financial Loser for the States Fiscal Times by Eric Pianin—A key element of the Republicans' plan for replacing Obamacare is transforming the costly Medicaid program into a series of block grants to the states. The idea is to save the federal government billions of dollars in the coming years while giving state officials more flexibility to set eligibility requirements and spending levels to provide health care services to the nation's poor and disabled. But there is one serious catch: While the extensive use of block grants has proven over the years to be a great financial boon for Congress and the federal government in attempting to rein in spending, it has been a bad deal for the states and hundreds of millions of Americans dependent on federal assistance.
