Testifying before GOP-run House, Republican governors complained the healthcare reform law prevents them from making deep cuts in Medicaid as they struggle to balance their budgets, according to a report by the Hill.
"Believe it or not, we love our constituents as much as you all do and we want to do right for them," GOP Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi told a House committee. "But we want to do what we can afford and can sustain."
Though states can institute some types of cuts on their own, some governors are asking for waivers from HHS so they can make deeper cuts, but waivers are hard to come by. "We shouldn't have to come here and kowtow and kiss the ring [of HHS officials]," Gov. Barbour complained to House Republicans.
Meanwhile, a coalition of several dozen public interest groups countered the GOP governors' appeal. "While there is no doubt that these state budget problems are serious and warrant attention, taking healthcare away from millions of American seniors and children is the wrong response," the coalition stated in a letter to Congress. "What the governors propose would undercut the remarkable gains we've made in recent years in insuring our nation's children and imperil the availability of long-term services and supports for seniors and people with disabilities."
Read the Hill report on Medicaid.
Read more coverage of Medicaid cuts:
- Proposed Texas Medicaid Cuts Threaten Rural Hospitals
- South Carolina Senate OKs $125M in Cuts to Physicians, Hospitals
- New York Health Department Proposes 2% Cut to Medicaid Payments, 4% Cap on Annual Spending Increases
"Believe it or not, we love our constituents as much as you all do and we want to do right for them," GOP Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi told a House committee. "But we want to do what we can afford and can sustain."
Though states can institute some types of cuts on their own, some governors are asking for waivers from HHS so they can make deeper cuts, but waivers are hard to come by. "We shouldn't have to come here and kowtow and kiss the ring [of HHS officials]," Gov. Barbour complained to House Republicans.
Meanwhile, a coalition of several dozen public interest groups countered the GOP governors' appeal. "While there is no doubt that these state budget problems are serious and warrant attention, taking healthcare away from millions of American seniors and children is the wrong response," the coalition stated in a letter to Congress. "What the governors propose would undercut the remarkable gains we've made in recent years in insuring our nation's children and imperil the availability of long-term services and supports for seniors and people with disabilities."
Read the Hill report on Medicaid.
Read more coverage of Medicaid cuts:
- Proposed Texas Medicaid Cuts Threaten Rural Hospitals
- South Carolina Senate OKs $125M in Cuts to Physicians, Hospitals
- New York Health Department Proposes 2% Cut to Medicaid Payments, 4% Cap on Annual Spending Increases