“Putting Mary Mayhew in charge of Medicaid is like handing Society Security over to Bernie Madoff,” said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care
Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced that Mary Mayhew, a devoted Medicaid opponent, would be the new head of Medicaid and CHIP programs. Said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, about the announcement: “Putting Mary Mayhew in charge of Medicaid is like handing Social Security over to Bernie Madoff. The American people want Republican war on health care to end, but this is just more of the same Trump administration sabotage.”
People have noticed that Trump wants an anti-Medicaid head of Medicaid:
Bangor Daily News: Mayhew Was “The Face Of LePage’s Crusade Against Medicaid Expansion.” “No member of the LePage administration except for the governor himself has been a more polarizing figure than Mayhew, whose arch-conservative six-year tenure in the often-embattled health department became a road map for Republicans after the inauguration of Trump in 2017. She was the face of LePage’s crusade against Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which was approved by voters in 2017 but has languished unimplemented in a court fight with a pending expansion plan and a request for new Medicaid work requirements sitting before the agency where Mayhew will be a key official.” [Bangor Daily News, 10/15/18]
FierceHealthcare: Mayhew Is “An Ardent Opponent Of Medicaid Expansion.” “A former Maine health official and an ardent opponent of Medicaid expansion has been appointed to oversee Medicaid at the federal level.” [FierceHealthcare, 10/15/18]
Fiscal Times: “Trump’s New Medicaid Chief Is a Medicaid Critic.” [Fiscal Times, 10/15/18]
Healthcare Finance: Mayhew “Opposed The Expansion Of Medicaid In Maine.” “Mayhew is a conservative who, under Maine Governor Paul LePage, oversaw major changes to Maine’s public assistance programs, including MaineCare, its Medicaid program, according to the Press Herald report. She opposed the expansion of Medicaid in Maine. LePage has fought a court order to expand Medicaid, saying the state does not have the financial means to pay for it. Voters in 2017 approved a ballot measure to expand Medicaid in the state.” [Healthcare Finance, 10/15/18]
AP: Mayhew Is A “Strong Opponent” Of Expanding Medicaid. “Mayhew and LePage are both strong opponents of expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. When she announced her run for governor last year, Mayhew said: ‘I adamantly reject that growing government is the answer to our challenges.'” [Associated Press, 10/15/18]
Modern Healthcare: Mayhew “Staunchly Opposed The State’s Ballot Measure To Expand Medicaid.” “Mary Mayhew, who as Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s top health official staunchly opposed the state’s ballot measure to expand Medicaid, will lead Medicaid policy at the federal level in her new position as new deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services.” [Modern Healthcare, 10/15/18]
Portland Press Herald: Mayhew “Played A Major Role In Eliminating Nearly 70,000 People From The State’s Medicaid Program.” “Mayhew is best known for her seven years as commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services under Gov. Paul LePage. During her tenure, she oversaw major changes to nearly all of Maine’s public assistance programs, including food stamps and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Mayhew also played a major role in eliminating nearly 70,000 people from the state’s Medicaid program and, like LePage, she was an ardent opponent of expanding Medicaid, which was made allowable at the state level under the Affordable Care Act.” [Portland Press Herald, 10/15/18]
Politico: Mayhew Was The “Architect” Of Maine’s “Aggressive” Cuts to Medicaid Enrollment. “The Trump administration has tapped Mary Mayhew — the architect of Maine’s aggressive conservative reforms to the social safety net — to oversee the national Medicaid program. She has been an ally of outgoing Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican who has fought as hard as any governor against expanding Medicaid under Obamacare. CMS announced the move internally Monday, the day Mayhew began as the agency’s deputy administrator and director of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Mayhew served as Maine’s health commissioner for six years under LePage, leading efforts to tighten the state’s Medicaid eligibility standards, add work requirements to the food stamp program and implement other conservative reforms. She supported LePage as he rejected efforts to expand the state’s Medicaid program — repeatedly vetoing legislation and then resisting after nearly 60 percent of Maine voters approved expansion on a ballot measure in 2017. ” [Politico, 10/15/18]
Vox: Mayhew Is A “Strident Medicaid Critic.” “The Trump administration’s choice to run the Medicaid program nationwide is Mary Mayhew, a strident Medicaid critic who has urged states not to join the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.” [Vox, 10/15/18]
Washington Examiner: Mayhew “Shepherded Work Requirements For Food Stamps” In Maine. “Mary Mayhew, a Maine official who shepherded work requirements for food stamps in the state, has been appointed to a top role at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where she will be responsible for overseeing health programs for low-income people. Mayhew is joining the agency as the Trump administration is working to expand work requirements in the Medicaid program. Under the proposals, approved in a handful of states, certain low-income people who are covered by Medicaid would need to work, take classes, or volunteer as a condition of staying enrolled in the program. Mayhew oversaw the rollout of food stamp work requirements in 2014, when she was commissioner for Health and Human Services under GOP Gov. Paul LePage. Mayhew co-authored an opinion piece on Fox News earlier this year with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praising the Trump administration’s push to add work requirements to more welfare programs and close exemptions.” [Washington Examiner, 10/15/18]