Medicaid ‘At Risk’ Under Incoming Administration, According To CMS Leader

Home Health Care News / By Audrie Martin
 
The Medicaid program could face significant challenges under the Trump administration, according to Dan Tsai, the deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Services. He expressed these concerns during a leadership update call from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday.

“Medicaid is so important across the country,” Tsai said. “Over one in five Americans get their health care coverage through us. We are leaving the program stronger today than where we started four years ago, but that progress is at risk.” 

Tsai specifically opposed the introduction of work requirements or block grants for the program, arguing that they would create excessive bureaucratic hurdles.
“They are just plain bad policy not backed up by facts and evidence. And the cost will be people’s lives and health across the country,” he said. 

The Trump administration has indicated that these requirements and grants may be introduced during President Trump’s next term.

Tsai’s concerns follow President Trump’s appointment of Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead CMS and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services. 

During the call, CMS leadership highlighted the agency’s accomplishments over the last four years. These included recovering from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the resumption of regular Medicaid and CHIP renewals after a three-year hiatus, and implementing provisions of the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Affordable Care Act and other legislation. 

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