POLITICO
By Jennifer Haberkorn
The Senate’s Obamacare repeal bill may protect Alaska and up to four other sparsely populated states from major cuts to Medicaid through 2026, a potential boon to the home of pivotal GOP swing vote Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
The plan from Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) allows a limited number of states to opt out of its new Medicaid financing system, which would give states set sums to run their programs and do away with the open-ended entitlement that exists today.
Murkowski helped kill the GOP’s “skinny” repeal bill in July and is being heavily courted by Republicans to support the latest repeal effort.
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Leaders from states that expanded Medicaid programs are critical of the bill that would eliminate funding:
The outright purchasing of votes. Everyone involved in this moral and intellectual monstrosity should be ashamed of themselves. https://t.co/A5ylD4CFhZ
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) September 21, 2017
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker told National Public Radio Graham-Cassidy ignores the cost of wages. “How you can say that there’s one cost of health care per service delivered for the entire country and make that work?” he said. As of February this year, healthcare expenses in Massachusetts account for about 40 percent of the state’s budget.