All 50 of the state Medicaid directors signed a two-page letter Thursday in united opposition to Graham-Cassidy, the GOP’s latest attempted replacement for the Affordable Care Act, reports Splinter News.
The National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) is a bipartisan group. It says something about Graham-Cassidy when 50 people from both sides of the aisle can come together and agree that a bill is terrible. According to the directors, it would force states to come up with their own healthcare systems by 2020 — about two years from now.
It would be a Herculean feat to say the least, and the NAMD directors are united in believing it would be nearly impossible. Not only is the creation of an entire healthcare system incredibly labor intensive, it’s also costly. That’s yet one more problem, says the NAMD, “especially considering the apparent lack of federal funding in the bill to support these critical activities.”
Also, considering the fact that Graham-Cassidy plans to slash funding for Medicaid by $215 billion between 2020 and 2026, you really do have to wonder just where those who support the bill think the money to fund the bill’s drastic changes will come from. The letter warns the bill is “the largest intergovernmental transfer of financial risk from the federal government to the states in our country’s history.”
The bipartisan opposition for the bill is also present in the Senate, as Arizona Senator John McCain also announced that he couldn’t “in good conscience” support the bill.
I cannot in good conscience vote for Graham-Cassidy. A bill impacting so many lives deserves a bipartisan approach. https://t.co/2sDjhw6Era pic.twitter.com/30OWezQpLg
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) September 22, 2017
On Twitter, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut summarized how most of us are probably feeling about the bill and the NAMD uniting against it, calling the situation, “BANANAS.”
Same Chris, same.