Source: News Nation Now
Cutting federal spending is one of the many goals President-elect Donald Trump has for his second term in the White House.
Although Trump has not explicitly outlined his plans for Medicaid, some suspect he may try to slash funding.
72.4 million people were enrolled in Medicaid as of July, according to the program’s most recent report.
Possible changes to Medicaid
The KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that researches health care issues, points to Trump’s first term as an indication of what’s to come in his second term.
The Trump administration could choose not to implement or rewrite recent regulations on Medicaid under the Biden administration.
The current administration finalized multiple Medicaid regulations, including increasing provider rate transparency, strengthening standards for timely access to care, requiring minimum staffing standards for nursing facilities and streamlining the enrollment and renewal processes.
The rules will be implemented over several years.
“The Trump administration could delay implementation of certain provisions, which would reduce regulation of managed care companies, nursing facilities, and other providers while rolling back enrollee protections, payment transparency, and improved access,” the KFF wrote. “Alternatively, the Trump administration could issue new regulations that would undo these final regulations.”
Critics suspect Trump may make it harder for people to qualify for Medicaid.
He could implement eligibility verification processes in between annual renewal periods, which would require states to conduct periodic data checks, and he could change the renewal procedures, which would make it harder for some to renew their coverage, “while providing greater certainty that people who are ineligible do not obtain coverage,” according to KFF.
“Beyond waivers, regulations, and enrollment policy, if the Republicans gain control of both the House and the Senate, Trump could work with Congress to enact legislation that would more fundamentally change the financing structure of Medicaid and make significant cuts to federal Medicaid spending, similar to policies Trump has supported in the past,” KFF wrote on Nov. 8.
Republicans now have control of the House and Senate.
