Health payments to 77 million Americans suspended after deranged White House OMB memo, payments restored after backlash

[journo]

The White House Management and Budget office sent out a deranged letter calling for an indefinitely temporary halt to nearly all federal financial assistance
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... -memo.html

In it, it blames, "Marxist equity", and nominally sought to temporarily hurt those in need of financial assistance in order to... gauge compliance with identity politics nonsense (among a flurry of poorly written executive orders, many appearing to be written by AI). Yesterday, Medicaid and food stamp programs in dozens of states were thrown in disarray and payments were halted.

Blatantly illegal, Congress decides how much money goes to these programs, not the OMB.

When the White House press secretary gave a press conference, she was asked if Medicaid and food stamp related payments would be restored, she had no clue and said she'd "get back on that".

Which was legally insufficient, 23 states sued and the OMB subsequently issued another memo stating "mandatory programs" like food stamps and Medicaid cannot legally be affected. This led to the restoration of Medicaid portals across the country. This probably disproportionately negatively effected Republicans giving birth yesterday as...

40% of birth healthcare is paid by Medicaid and

A majority of Medicaid recipients are Republicans...



A few sleuths found that related OMB PDFs sent around the same time disclosed ghostwriters in the metadata including former AFP institute director
James Sherk
https://nitter.poast.org/pic/orig/media ... AA5c8D.png


Stephen D. Hickman,
https://nitter.poast.org/pic/orig/media ... AE2G8M.png

and attorney Noah Peters
https://nitter.poast.org/pic/orig/media ... AAd7eK.png

[journo]

Browsing the replies of Republican politicians, many of their Republican constituents were in a panic. After the payment restoration, in order to navigate cognitive dissonance, a lot of people are trying to claim the payment issues were a deep state plot or hoax.

I guess they didn't pay attention today when Republican Senator Cassidy said to RFK Jr. that Senate Republicans are looking for ways to cut Medicaid for the elderly to "fund" Trump's huge tax cuts for his friends.

[ericbarbour]

YOU WILL SEE MORE OF THIS IN COMING YEARS. The absolute #1 priority for the Trump admin is cutting taxes on his rich buddies. Everything else on "Agenda 2025" is "optional" and disposable.

And you will see the name "Noah Peters" in the news more frequently. I suspect it's only a matter of time before he's prosecuted for fraud, perjury, or the like. And/or ends up working for the White House.

wheeeee

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[journo]

I think I might have over-reacted to Senator Cassidy's statements. Media reports are constantly saying Congressional Republicans are looking for ways to cut Medicaid, including before any of them probably talked about it. Remains to be seen how much of that is a self-fulfilling prophesy if it happens.

Upon further research, Cassidy was promoting his DUALS Act, which RJK jr. took as codeword for "cutting Medicaid", which, upon closer inspection, is not exactly that in spirit. On the face of it, it seems to be a good bill. On the other hand, I'm not aware of a single "Medicaid activist" that gets themselves any press or attention, or even publishes anything in volume. So would want to see how they evaluate the DUALS Act if such people exist. It was too heady for me.

Also, a bunch of people in Congress clapped when RFK jr lied about Medicaid and I doubt it was the Democrats, he's a real danger and so are the media pushing the Republicans to act like this.

Still think that OMB memo was deranged though.

[badmachine]

Upon further research, Cassidy was promoting his DUALS Act, which RJK jr. took as codeword for "cutting Medicaid", which, upon closer inspection, is not exactly that in spirit. On the face of it, it seems to be a good bill.

people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid would be stuck with something called an "integrated care plan".

i cant imagine what this would fix but my experience is that anything government touches turns to shit and frankly i wish they wouldnt do stuff like this.

On the other hand, I'm not aware of a single "Medicaid activist" that gets themselves any press or attention, or even publishes anything in volume.

California already basically privatized Medi-Cal (California Medicaid) and nobody from the media nor from the activist class said anything.

[journo]

Fox News recently claimed both speaker Johnson and Trump are opposed to a reduction of Medicaid benefits or a cut to Medicaid (except in cases of fraud and abuse)
https://archive.is/2KmA2

Regardless, a Medicaid activist group formed and is running ads in various states. It implies the trillions in cuts proposed by Congressional Republicans may exceed that related to fraud and abuse.
https://www.protectourcare.org/new-prot ... ting-cuts/

[journo]

Speaker Johnson has said twice so far this month they fully intend to roll back Medicaid expansion. He doubled down yesterday. Basically taking anyone off who don't receive other types of welfare payments. So my health insurance will go away, along with millions of others, unless my income changes, or I start applying for disability welfare.

I don't have high re-occurring medical bills so it's not a huge problem for me, but it will be for millions of others. They're chopping something with 76% support among Republicans even.

Not sure what the point of this is, to get tons of people to apply for disability welfare?

[badmachine]

Speaker Johnson has said twice so far this month they fully intend to roll back Medicaid expansion. He doubled down yesterday. Basically taking anyone off who don't receive other types of welfare payments. So my health insurance will go away, along with millions of others, unless my income changes, or I start applying for disability welfare.

I don't have high re-occurring medical bills so it's not a huge problem for me, but it will be for millions of others. They're chopping something with 76% support among Republicans even.

Not sure what the point of this is, to get tons of people to apply for disability welfare?

sounds like more scaremongering. my understanding is theyre going to dump the illegals from medicaid which would leave more resources for citizens of the usa.

[journo]

Speaker Johnson has said twice so far this month they fully intend to roll back Medicaid expansion. He doubled down yesterday. Basically taking anyone off who don't receive other types of welfare payments. So my health insurance will go away, along with millions of others, unless my income changes, or I start applying for disability welfare.

I don't have high re-occurring medical bills so it's not a huge problem for me, but it will be for millions of others. They're chopping something with 76% support among Republicans even.

Not sure what the point of this is, to get tons of people to apply for disability welfare?

sounds like more scaremongering. my understanding is theyre going to dump the illegals from medicaid which would leave more resources for citizens of the usa.

Bro...

At the same time, we have to root out fraud, waste and abuse, we have to eliminate on, for example, on Medicaid who are not actually eligible to be there. Able-bodied workers, for example, young men, who are — who should never be on the program at all,” he added.

--Speaker Johnson

And … when you have people on the program that are draining the resources, it takes it away from the people that are actually needing it the most and are intended to receive it. You’re talking about young single mothers down on their fortunes at the moment, the people with the real disabilities, the elderly.

--Speaker Johnson

You don't want able-bodied workers on a program that is intended, for example, for single mothers with two small children who is just trying to make it," "That is what Medicaid is for. Not for 29-year-old males sitting on their couches playing video games, We're going to find those guys and we're going to send them back to work. That's what everybody supports, that's what the Republicans are for.

--Speaker Johnson

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5247 ... caid-cuts/
https://www.newsweek.com/mike-johnson-i ... ng-2037182

He is very explicitly stating he wants to rollback the 2008 Medicaid expansion, enacted later in various states. That is not about the immigration issue. Medicaid expansion covers those without a formal disability status on the welfare rolls, like people who don't want to call into a doctor every week to claim some made up brain disease, and take numbing pills for it.

Even a 1-10% cut in overall Medicaid funding triggers an automatic rollback of Medicaid expansion in 12 states, affecting millions of all ages, you know that right?

The vast majority of Republicans aren't for the rollback and they should get on Speaker Johnson's ass for trying to hurt the poor.

[badmachine]

i will believe it if i see it.