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Fact Check: McConnell's claim that Senate GOP health bill would not 'cause anyone currently on Medic
Source: Washington Post
McConnell’s claim that Senate GOP health bill would not ’cause anyone currently on Medicaid to come off it’
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee July 11 at 3:00 AM
“Nothing we’ve advocated so far would cause anyone currently on Medicaid to come off of it.”
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), speech in Paducah, Ky., July 5.
A reader asked us to fact-check this claim, reported in an article by the West Kentucky Star about a luncheon speech McConnell delivered in Kentucky during the Fourth of July recess.
The impact of the Senate GOP health-care bill on Medicaid enrollees and financing is one of the major points of debate in the Senate. Previously, we awarded Three Pinocchios to President Trump’s claim that the Senate proposal, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), actually increases Medicaid spending.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
His staff explained that the BCRA does not mandate any states to change or cut their Medicaid program, and people losing coverage would be a state choice, not something “caused” by the proposal. But this is misleading. Mandate or not, the Senate GOP health bill would decrease federal reimbursement for Medicaid, and states would need to decide how to move forward with less federal money. This would create pressures on states to cut or eliminate coverage for certain populations, and some people would “come off” Medicaid.
McConnell pushed the envelope here. The reality is that BCRA is the potential intervening factor for whatever choices states would make in response, and CBO estimated it would lead to 15 million fewer Medicaid enrollees by 2026, compared to current law. We award Three Pinocchios.
Three Pinocchios
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee July 11 at 3:00 AM
“Nothing we’ve advocated so far would cause anyone currently on Medicaid to come off of it.”
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), speech in Paducah, Ky., July 5.
A reader asked us to fact-check this claim, reported in an article by the West Kentucky Star about a luncheon speech McConnell delivered in Kentucky during the Fourth of July recess.
The impact of the Senate GOP health-care bill on Medicaid enrollees and financing is one of the major points of debate in the Senate. Previously, we awarded Three Pinocchios to President Trump’s claim that the Senate proposal, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), actually increases Medicaid spending.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
His staff explained that the BCRA does not mandate any states to change or cut their Medicaid program, and people losing coverage would be a state choice, not something “caused” by the proposal. But this is misleading. Mandate or not, the Senate GOP health bill would decrease federal reimbursement for Medicaid, and states would need to decide how to move forward with less federal money. This would create pressures on states to cut or eliminate coverage for certain populations, and some people would “come off” Medicaid.
McConnell pushed the envelope here. The reality is that BCRA is the potential intervening factor for whatever choices states would make in response, and CBO estimated it would lead to 15 million fewer Medicaid enrollees by 2026, compared to current law. We award Three Pinocchios.
Three Pinocchios
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/07/11/mcconnells-claim-that-senate-gop-health-bill-would-not-cause-anyone-currently-on-medicaid-to-come-off-of-it/