BRANCHBURG, N.J. (AP) – Cutting nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid will give states the freedom to tailor the program to suit their needs, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Sunday, as he defended a narrowly passed House bill that aims to undo parts of the health care law enacted by the previous administration.
The bill’s passage buoyed President Donald Trump, but the measure appeared headed for an overhaul in the Senate. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director, said the House bill is unlikely to be the version that ultimately clears the Senate and ends up in front of the president.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican whose vote will be critical in getting a bill to Trump’s desk, voiced concerns about potential higher costs for older people and those with pre-existing conditions. She said the House bill was difficult to assess overall because it passed without an updated analysis by the Congressional Budget Office on how the measure would affect health care costs and coverage. The CBO concluded after reviewing an earlier version of the House bill that an estimated 24 million consumers would lose coverage over 10 years.
Collins said she expected the Senate would come up with a “whole new fresh approach” to replacing the Affordable Care Act, enacted under President Barack Obama.
“The House bill is not going to come before us,” she said. “The Senate is starting from scratch. We’re going to draft our bill, and I’m convinced we will take the time to do it right.”