Washington, DC — On Friday, the Trump administration approved a proposal in Tennessee that would make the state’s Medicaid program a block grant. Block granting Medicaid funds is seen by health care experts as blatant attempts to gut coverage and kick people off the rolls, and have repeatedly been rejected by Congress. These actions come at a time when more and more Americans are enrolling in Medicaid across the country due to the pandemic. In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:
“The Trump administration and CMS Administrator Seema Verma are spending their final days in power kicking people when they are down by ripping away health care during a pandemic. Instead of focusing on the nearly 4,000 Americans dying per day from coronavirus, Trump and Verma are running through the tape to cement their legacy of blocking as many people from coverage as possible. Initiating block grants isn’t about improving or reforming health care; it’s about ripping coverage away from more Americans, plain and simple. Thankfully, this will be reversed by the Biden administration who will instead work to ensure everyone has affordable, quality health care and to get the deadly pandemic under control.”