Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, speaks at the Coronavirus Task Force Press Conference on March 10, 2020. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
Mar 13, 2020
As states across the U.S. struggle to contain the novel coronavirus and treat those who have been infected, the Trump administration is blocking state governments from expanding Medicaid coverage to ensure that vulnerable populations are able to receive necessary healthcare in the face of the rapidly spreading pandemic.
The Los Angeles Timesreported Friday that "despite mounting pleas from California and other states, the Trump administration isn't allowing states to use Medicaid more freely to respond to the coronavirus crisis by expanding medical services."
"It isn't enough Trump and loyalists have catastrophically botched the response to this epidemic and lied about it. The admin is now blocking states from expanding medical services. Ghouls."
--Rep. Bill Pascrell
"In previous emergencies, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the H1N1 flu outbreak, both Republican and Democratic administrations loosened Medicaid rules to empower states to meet surging needs," the Times noted. "But months into the current global disease outbreak, the White House and senior federal health officials haven't taken the necessary steps to give states simple pathways to fully leverage the mammoth safety net program to prevent a wider epidemic."
A number of factors have played into the Trump administration's refusal to allow states to expand Medicaid, according to the Times, including Trump's hesitance to declare a national emergency--which would allow states to more easily receive Medicaid expansion waivers--and the right-wing views of top federal health officials like Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Verma has been a driving force behind the Trump administration's effort to impose more punitive work requirements on Medicaid recipients and allow states to convert Medicaid funding into fixed block grants, a move that would could limit states' flexibility to respond to health and economic crises.
"Medicaid could be the nation's biggest public health responder, but it's such an object of ire in this administration," Sara Rosenbaum, a Medicaid expert at George Washington University, told the Times. "Their ideology is clouding their response to a crisis."
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former executive director of the Detroit Health Department, tweeted that "blocking states from using Medicaid to fight COVID-19 is asking them to fight the monster with one arm behind their back."
"This is just astounding," El-Sayed said of Trump's stonewalling.
\u201cnot even a global pandemic will stop dead-eyed right-wing extremists from trying to eviscerate the social safety net https://t.co/sVpfKchGFj\u201d— b-boy bouiebaisse (@b-boy bouiebaisse) 1584102811
\u201cThe levels of incompetence and cruelty are really just off the charts. https://t.co/bI0P6Gqtx4\u201d— Ron Marz (@Ron Marz) 1584107655
Asked Thursday whether he would be willing to declare a national emergency over the coronavirus, Trump was non-commital and continued to downplay the threat posed by the pandemic, which has infected more than 1,600 people in the United States as of Friday morning.
"Well, we have things that I can do," Trump said. "We have very strong emergency powers under the Stafford Act... I have it memorized, practically, as to the powers in that act. And if I need to do something, I'll do it. I have the right to do a lot of things that people don't even know about."
"But, you know, look, we're in great shape," the president added.
Progressive advocacy group Social Security Works tweeted that "it is despicable for the Trump administration to block states from using Medicaid to respond."
"Public health must be the priority during the coronavirus crisis," the group added.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.Y.) also issued a scathing condemnation of the Trump White House in response to the Times reporting.
"It isn't enough Trump and loyalists have catastrophically botched the response to this epidemic and lied about it," Pascrell tweeted. "The admin is now blocking states from expanding medical services. Ghouls."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As states across the U.S. struggle to contain the novel coronavirus and treat those who have been infected, the Trump administration is blocking state governments from expanding Medicaid coverage to ensure that vulnerable populations are able to receive necessary healthcare in the face of the rapidly spreading pandemic.
The Los Angeles Timesreported Friday that "despite mounting pleas from California and other states, the Trump administration isn't allowing states to use Medicaid more freely to respond to the coronavirus crisis by expanding medical services."
"It isn't enough Trump and loyalists have catastrophically botched the response to this epidemic and lied about it. The admin is now blocking states from expanding medical services. Ghouls."
--Rep. Bill Pascrell
"In previous emergencies, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the H1N1 flu outbreak, both Republican and Democratic administrations loosened Medicaid rules to empower states to meet surging needs," the Times noted. "But months into the current global disease outbreak, the White House and senior federal health officials haven't taken the necessary steps to give states simple pathways to fully leverage the mammoth safety net program to prevent a wider epidemic."
A number of factors have played into the Trump administration's refusal to allow states to expand Medicaid, according to the Times, including Trump's hesitance to declare a national emergency--which would allow states to more easily receive Medicaid expansion waivers--and the right-wing views of top federal health officials like Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Verma has been a driving force behind the Trump administration's effort to impose more punitive work requirements on Medicaid recipients and allow states to convert Medicaid funding into fixed block grants, a move that would could limit states' flexibility to respond to health and economic crises.
"Medicaid could be the nation's biggest public health responder, but it's such an object of ire in this administration," Sara Rosenbaum, a Medicaid expert at George Washington University, told the Times. "Their ideology is clouding their response to a crisis."
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former executive director of the Detroit Health Department, tweeted that "blocking states from using Medicaid to fight COVID-19 is asking them to fight the monster with one arm behind their back."
"This is just astounding," El-Sayed said of Trump's stonewalling.
\u201cnot even a global pandemic will stop dead-eyed right-wing extremists from trying to eviscerate the social safety net https://t.co/sVpfKchGFj\u201d— b-boy bouiebaisse (@b-boy bouiebaisse) 1584102811
\u201cThe levels of incompetence and cruelty are really just off the charts. https://t.co/bI0P6Gqtx4\u201d— Ron Marz (@Ron Marz) 1584107655
Asked Thursday whether he would be willing to declare a national emergency over the coronavirus, Trump was non-commital and continued to downplay the threat posed by the pandemic, which has infected more than 1,600 people in the United States as of Friday morning.
"Well, we have things that I can do," Trump said. "We have very strong emergency powers under the Stafford Act... I have it memorized, practically, as to the powers in that act. And if I need to do something, I'll do it. I have the right to do a lot of things that people don't even know about."
"But, you know, look, we're in great shape," the president added.
Progressive advocacy group Social Security Works tweeted that "it is despicable for the Trump administration to block states from using Medicaid to respond."
"Public health must be the priority during the coronavirus crisis," the group added.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.Y.) also issued a scathing condemnation of the Trump White House in response to the Times reporting.
"It isn't enough Trump and loyalists have catastrophically botched the response to this epidemic and lied about it," Pascrell tweeted. "The admin is now blocking states from expanding medical services. Ghouls."
As states across the U.S. struggle to contain the novel coronavirus and treat those who have been infected, the Trump administration is blocking state governments from expanding Medicaid coverage to ensure that vulnerable populations are able to receive necessary healthcare in the face of the rapidly spreading pandemic.
The Los Angeles Timesreported Friday that "despite mounting pleas from California and other states, the Trump administration isn't allowing states to use Medicaid more freely to respond to the coronavirus crisis by expanding medical services."
"It isn't enough Trump and loyalists have catastrophically botched the response to this epidemic and lied about it. The admin is now blocking states from expanding medical services. Ghouls."
--Rep. Bill Pascrell
"In previous emergencies, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the H1N1 flu outbreak, both Republican and Democratic administrations loosened Medicaid rules to empower states to meet surging needs," the Times noted. "But months into the current global disease outbreak, the White House and senior federal health officials haven't taken the necessary steps to give states simple pathways to fully leverage the mammoth safety net program to prevent a wider epidemic."
A number of factors have played into the Trump administration's refusal to allow states to expand Medicaid, according to the Times, including Trump's hesitance to declare a national emergency--which would allow states to more easily receive Medicaid expansion waivers--and the right-wing views of top federal health officials like Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Verma has been a driving force behind the Trump administration's effort to impose more punitive work requirements on Medicaid recipients and allow states to convert Medicaid funding into fixed block grants, a move that would could limit states' flexibility to respond to health and economic crises.
"Medicaid could be the nation's biggest public health responder, but it's such an object of ire in this administration," Sara Rosenbaum, a Medicaid expert at George Washington University, told the Times. "Their ideology is clouding their response to a crisis."
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former executive director of the Detroit Health Department, tweeted that "blocking states from using Medicaid to fight COVID-19 is asking them to fight the monster with one arm behind their back."
"This is just astounding," El-Sayed said of Trump's stonewalling.
\u201cnot even a global pandemic will stop dead-eyed right-wing extremists from trying to eviscerate the social safety net https://t.co/sVpfKchGFj\u201d— b-boy bouiebaisse (@b-boy bouiebaisse) 1584102811
\u201cThe levels of incompetence and cruelty are really just off the charts. https://t.co/bI0P6Gqtx4\u201d— Ron Marz (@Ron Marz) 1584107655
Asked Thursday whether he would be willing to declare a national emergency over the coronavirus, Trump was non-commital and continued to downplay the threat posed by the pandemic, which has infected more than 1,600 people in the United States as of Friday morning.
"Well, we have things that I can do," Trump said. "We have very strong emergency powers under the Stafford Act... I have it memorized, practically, as to the powers in that act. And if I need to do something, I'll do it. I have the right to do a lot of things that people don't even know about."
"But, you know, look, we're in great shape," the president added.
Progressive advocacy group Social Security Works tweeted that "it is despicable for the Trump administration to block states from using Medicaid to respond."
"Public health must be the priority during the coronavirus crisis," the group added.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.Y.) also issued a scathing condemnation of the Trump White House in response to the Times reporting.
"It isn't enough Trump and loyalists have catastrophically botched the response to this epidemic and lied about it," Pascrell tweeted. "The admin is now blocking states from expanding medical services. Ghouls."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.