Donald Trump promised the people at his rallies that he would keep Social Security, Medicare Insurance, and Medicaid Insurance safe. He lied. In his new budget, he made draconian cuts to one of these program’s payments to hospitals. The cuts would be “devastating.” Now, state and national organizations in three states have filed lawsuits.
Trump’s cuts to Medicaid Insurance come on the backs of low-income residents in New Hampshire and other states, those who are the least able to fight back. A new Medicaid Insurance expansion work requirement means that many people will unfairly lose their health insurance. People will die.
New Hampshire’s Governor Chris Sununu (R) spearheaded the initiative, which was based upon the bone-headed myth that people who have Medicaid Insurance are lazy and just want a free ride.
The waivers have also been part of Republicans’ attempts to chip away at life-saving government programs that are not entitlements in the current meaning of the word — a belief that something unearned is deserved. Instead, these are guarantees that people are genuinely entitled to receive.
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- The class action suit claims that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have violated the Medicaid Act when it gave New Hampshire the ability to demand people work 100 hours per month or lose their health benefits. New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) joined the three-state lawsuit as the third state, according to
The policy director at NHLA Dawn McKinny said:
‘Our concern is that folks who are eligible and working in fact will lose coverage. The majority of folks in New Hampshire on Medicaid are in working households, and their concern is just even having to file additional paperwork or navigate these requirements will cause them to lose coverage.’
The New Hampshire legislature passed on a bipartisan basis, and it will take effect in April. It demands people must work 100 hours a month or give the same number of hours volunteering in the community. There are exemptions. The problem is that people’s situations do not fit neatly into that box.
Ian Ludders, 40, works in agriculture. His job is seasonal, and there are months where no work has been available. Samuel Philbrick, 26, works in retail. Unfortunately, the sports goods store only offers him irregular hours.
Another problem, a legal problem, is that the work requirement was not part of the Affordable Care Act. New Hampshire had to get a waiver, which POTUS approved in 2018. The waiver was submitted by the Granite State’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to the CMS.
North Carolina staff attorney for the National Health Law Program Sarah Grusin indicated that this lawsuit against New Hampshire will generally be the same as those in other states:
‘The approval of the New Hampshire Granite Advantage Waiver was contrary to the Medicaid statute, which is to furnish health coverage. We know that this policy is to kick people off of coverage, as it has already done in Arkansas, where 18,000 people have lost their coverage.’
Three states are listed on the lawsuit: Arkansas, Kentucky, and New Hampshire. Two national organization joined NHLA in the lawsuit: the National Center for Law and Economic Justice in New York and the National Health Law Program in Washington D.C.
As the various lawsuits related to several federal investigations have become available, MSNBC host of The Rachel Maddow Show has read parts of them. Her audience enjoys this so much that she has continued. The first part of the New Hampshire lawsuit is shown below. Check them out:
