SMRs and AMRs

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A Supreme Court silver lining?

How Medicaid dodged the deficit debate

By Sarah Kliff, WashPost, Updated: December 12, 2012

On Monday, the Obama administration quietly reversed its support for a policy that would cut billions in Medicaid funding.

For health care advocates, the small move reaffirmed a big message already delivered by White House staff: Medicaid is largely off the table in deficit reduction negotiations.

Medicaid’s $389 billion budget has found protection in an unlikely place: The Supreme Court ruling in June, which found that the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of entitlement program must be voluntary. The decision disappointed health law supporters, as it left a program meant to cover 17 million Americans in the hands of the states, some of which oppose the new reforms.

Now, as legislators eye entitlements as one way to cut the deficit, advocates see a silver lining in the Supreme Court’s decision: The White House appears reticent to cut Medicaid at the same time it’s trying to woo governors into participating in a crucial Affordable Care Act provision.

“There’s a deep realization among Democrats that the Supreme Court altered the dynamic on Medicaid,” said Neera Tanden, president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress. “We live in a new reality where any additional burdens to Medicaid could have new meaning.”

(More here.)

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