logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contests
  • Lifestyle/Entertainment
  • Games
    • News
      • Local News
      • PA State News
      • Nation/World
    • Sports
      • Local
      • College Sports
      • State
      • National
    • Obituaries
    • Opinion
      • News
        • Local News
        • PA State News
        • Nation/World
      • Sports
        • Local
        • College Sports
        • State
        • National
      • Obituaries
      • Opinion
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Home Opinion An unhealthy approach on Medicaid policy
    An unhealthy approach on Medicaid policy
    Opinion, Сolumns
    NINA OWCHARENKO SCHAEFER, Tribune News Service  
    April 26, 2021

    An unhealthy approach on Medicaid policy

    When it comes to health care, the Biden administration has a clear goal: to strip away state flexibility and consolidate greater federal control — so much so that it’s willing to nullify settled agreements that the government has had with many states.

    Upon taking office, the president issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to review existing Medicaid policies to determine which should be suspended, revised, or rescinded. It also sent letters to states notifying them that any previous agreements related to the process of reviewing waivers no longer applied, thus fast-tracking the process for the federal government to rescind state agreements.

    Last month, the Biden administration took action to strip state policymakers of their ability to help able-bodied, low-income individuals either work, volunteer, or prepare to work in exchange for getting taxpayer funded health care benefits through Medicaid. It sent letters to states with approved or pending work requirement agreements notifying them that the work requirement provisions of those agreements were no longer supported by the administration and under further review.

    Two states, Arkansas and New Hampshire, have received official notice that their agreements on integrating work into Medicaid are null and void. Numerous other states still await their fate.

    The principle of integrating work as a condition of receiving welfare benefits is not new. As a matter of fact, work requirements have been part of the welfare infrastructure for decades. Yet, despite a steady decline in poverty since the principle was adopted as part of overhauling the welfare system in the 1990s, reversing this principle appears to be part of a larger effort to remove work as condition of receiving welfare benefits across the board.

    In Medicaid, the impact goes beyond undermining the principle of work. It also undermines the principle of state flexibility. State flexibility in Medicaid is important. Medicaid is a need-based government welfare program that provides health care services to certain low-income individuals. The federal-state partnership of Medicaid gives states the latitude to design their Medicaid program in ways to address the unique needs in their states and prevents the program from morphing into another federally controlled program.

    Most recently, the Biden administration took another unprecedented step in rescinding a key element of Texas’s long-standing Medicaid waiver, which the Trump administration extended for 10 years. This waiver allowed Texas to use Medicaid dollars to compensate providers for serving the uninsured. While the Biden administration’s rationale for the Texas repeal is on process grounds, some observers suggest the real reason behind this effort is to pressure Texas to expand their Medicaid as outlined under the Affordable Care Act.

    It remains unclear how far the administration will go to void other state policies they disagree with — even those that were supported under the Obama administration. For example, the Obama administration agreed to allow states to increase cost sharing, integrate account-style plans, and modify benefit packages in Medicaid based on categories of enrollees. Such flexibility may no longer be available to states moving forward and those states with existing waivers with such provisions may also be at risk of a receiving a termination notice.

    By design, Medicaid waivers are intended to allow states to experiment with different approaches to the delivery of care. Rescinding existing waivers is inappropriate and should be reversed. These aggressive actions by the Biden administration are an attack on state experimentation and part of a broader effort to consolidate policy decisions in Washington and undermine state flexibility.

    These unprecedented actions open Pandora’s Box and create uncertainty for all states moving forward. Such actions have chilling effect at the states level and only fuel concerns that this administration has set its sights on further paving the way for a more seamless transition to a full-blown single payer health care system.

    What’s really needed is not a federal, one-size-fits-all model, but a more flexible Medicaid model that allows states to adapt their Medicaid programs to the diverse and changing needs of their citizens. This will also require addressing more fundamental challenges facing the program, including preserving eligibility for those in need, allowing benefits to match the needs of beneficiaries more precisely, and restructuring the financing to target resources and dollars more effectively.

    We already know top-down, federal micro-management isn’t healthy. It’s time for a second opinion.

    (Nina Owcharenko Schaefer is a senior research fellow in health policy at The Heritage Foundation.)

    Tags:

    benefit federal state flexibility medicaid ministries policy politics program state

    The Bradford Era

    Local & Social
    Latest news for you
    Pa. charter school CEOs earn more money than superintendents and oversee fewer students
    PA State News
    Pa. charter school CEOs earn more money than superintendents and oversee fewer students
    By OLIVER MORRISON  pennlive.com 
    June 15, 2025
    HARRISBURG (TNS) — Brad Hatch grew up near Altoona and started his career as a teacher in the local school district, working his way up to assistant p...
    Read More...
    Pa. is supposed to ‘immediately’ suspend teachers charged with serious crimes. That doesn’t always happen.
    PA State News
    Pa. is supposed to ‘immediately’ suspend teachers charged with serious crimes. That doesn’t always happen.
    June 14, 2025
    PHILADELPHIA (TNS)— For months after he was arrested in March 2024 on charges of masturbating in a Montgomery County cemetery, Matthew Gagat continued...
    Read More...
    No Kings rally in Veterans Square
    Local News, Nation & World
    No Kings rally in Veterans Square
    By SAVANNAH BARR s.barr@bradfordera.com 
    June 14, 2025
    Veterans Square was packed Saturday afternoon as residents came together to express their discontent with the current administration during the local ...
    Read More...
    {"newsletter-daily-headlines":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Advocates, lawmakers push to limit solitary confinement in Pa. prisons
    Advocates, lawmakers push to limit solitary confinement in Pa. prisons
    June 14, 2025
    HARRISBURG (TNS) — Reform advocates are making another push to limit the use of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania prisons and jails, a long-running...
    Read More...
    {"bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Varischetti Game to Showcase Local Players June 27
    Local Sports
    Varischetti Game to Showcase Local Players June 27
    Jo Wankel 
    June 14, 2025
    BROCKWAY - The 10th Annual Frank Varischetti All-Star Football game is slated for the end of the month, and several area players were recognized for t...
    Read More...
    State tourism officials: In 2026, Pa. will be the ‘epicenter of the sports world’
    Local Sports, Sports
    State tourism officials: In 2026, Pa. will be the ‘epicenter of the sports world’
    Jo Wankel 
    June 14, 2025
    (TNS) —As golfers teed off during opening day of this year's 125th U.S. Open Championship, state officials inside of a tent overlooking the course's 1...
    Read More...
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Bradford Era mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Bradford Era on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Trending Recipes

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Bradford Era
    Submit Content
    • Submit News
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Place Wedding Announcement
      • Submit News
      • Letter to the Editor
      • Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    • Place Birth Announcement
    • Place Anniversary Announcement
    • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
      • Place Birth Announcement
      • Place Anniversary Announcement
      • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
    Subscribe
    • Start a Subscription
    • e-Edition
    • Contact Us
      • Start a Subscription
      • e-Edition
      • Contact Us
    CMG | Community Media Group
    Illinois
    • Hancock Journal-Pilot
    • Iroquois Times-Republic
    • Journal-Republican
    • The News-Gazette
      • Hancock Journal-Pilot
      • Iroquois Times-Republic
      • Journal-Republican
      • The News-Gazette
    Indiana
    • Fountain Co. Neighbor
    • Herald Journal
    • KV Post News
    • Newton Co. Enterprise
    • Rensselaer Republican
    • Review-Republican
      • Fountain Co. Neighbor
      • Herald Journal
      • KV Post News
      • Newton Co. Enterprise
      • Rensselaer Republican
      • Review-Republican
    Iowa
    • Atlantic News Telegraph
    • Audubon Advocate-Journal
    • Barr’s Post Card News
    • Burlington Hawk Eye
    • Collector’s Journal
    • Fayette County Union
    • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
    • Independence Bulletin-Journal
    • Keokuk Daily Gate City
    • Oelwein Daily Register
    • Vinton Newspapers
    • Waverly Newspapers
      • Atlantic News Telegraph
      • Audubon Advocate-Journal
      • Barr’s Post Card News
      • Burlington Hawk Eye
      • Collector’s Journal
      • Fayette County Union
      • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
      • Independence Bulletin-Journal
      • Keokuk Daily Gate City
      • Oelwein Daily Register
      • Vinton Newspapers
      • Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan
    • Iosco County News-Herald
    • Ludington Daily News
    • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
    • Oscoda Press
    • White Lake Beacon
      • Iosco County News-Herald
      • Ludington Daily News
      • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
      • Oscoda Press
      • White Lake Beacon
    New York
    • Finger Lakes Times
    • Olean Times Herald
    • Salamanca Press
      • Finger Lakes Times
      • Olean Times Herald
      • Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania
    • Bradford Era
    • Clearfield Progress
    • Courier Express
    • Free Press Courier
    • Jeffersonian Democrat
    • Leader Vindicator
    • Potter Leader-Enterprise
    • The Wellsboro Gazette
      • Bradford Era
      • Clearfield Progress
      • Courier Express
      • Free Press Courier
      • Jeffersonian Democrat
      • Leader Vindicator
      • Potter Leader-Enterprise
      • The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright The Bradford Era 43 Main St, Bradford, PA  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA