On March 6, Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives released draft legislation, the American Health Care Act (AHCA) (H.Res.154), that would not only repeal major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) but also fundamentally restructure the Medicaid program.
In particular, the AHCA would impose a “per capita cap” on federal Medicaid expenditures to cut federal support for Medicaid and score billions in budget savings. Like a Medicaid block grant, the effect of a Medicaid per capita cap would be equally devastating for the vulnerable populations that rely on Medicaid, including primarily, low-income children, seniors, and the disabled.
A Medicaid per capita cap serves only to cut federal costs by setting arbitrary limits on federal Medicaid spending. As currently structured, not only would the AHCA’s proposed per capita cap end the Medicaid entitlement, by underfunding states it would force serious cuts in benefits and services for the populations Medicaid is designed to protect.