NASHVILLE – Calling Medicaid block grants illegal, more than 30 U.S. House Democrats are warning the Trump administration in a letter against providing any guidance on them to states such as Tennessee, let alone approving them.
Democratic U.S. Reps. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts and Jim Cooper of Nashville spearheaded the letter, signed by a total of 36 members of Congress, including Democrat Steve Cohen of Tennessee. It says block grants are illegal for Medicaid, the state and federally funded health care program for low-income pregnant women, mothers and children and some elderly and disabled Americans.
In their letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Seema Verma, the federal lawmakers said they wanted to “express our strong concerns about your intent to approve Medicaid block grant waivers. Previous statements from those in the Administration make it clear that the goal of these block grants is to cut benefits and further limit access to publicly funded health care.
“Additionally, the approval of such waivers would directly oppose federal statutes, which describe how the federal agency must make matching funds available to state Medicaid programs,” the letter continues.
And it pointedly says “the administration should not issue any guidance encouraging block grant waivers, should reject these waivers and the concept of block grants, and urge any state that is considering this misguided policy to commit its energy to implementing Medicaid as Congress intends.”