LANSING, Mich. - The AARP of Michigan is joining a long list of groups urging state Senate Republicans to go back to the Capitol and vote on Medicaid expansion. The Senate adjourned for its summer recess last week before voting on a bill that would make nearly a half-million Michigan residents eligible for Medicaid.

According to Lisa Cooper, AARP Michigan's manager of advocacy, Senate Republicans are playing politics with people's lives.

"We know it saves lives and we know it saves money," she declared. "So there's no logical reason for the Senate to block a vote on this, and there's no legal reason, there's no moral reason. The only reason is a political reason. And that is, I think, a very sad commentary."

Cooper said Medicaid expansion would save Michigan businesses and residents about 3 percent on their health-care and insurance bills.

"And that's because this would reduce some of the hugely-expensive uncompensated care in the current system," she asserted. "It would finally allow us to get a handle on some of these health-care costs that have just been rising and rising."

The Senate is scheduled to return to full session in Lansing at the end of August.






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CARSON CITY, Nev. - Groups that advocate for the working poor are speaking out against a new policy proposal from the Trump administration to make it much harder for people to get food stamps via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program.

Right now, if you qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, states are allowed to automatically enroll you in SNAP. Under the new rule, TANF recipients would have to undergo another financial review before accessing SNAP.

Autumn Zemke, co-chair of the Northern Nevada Working Families Party, said this is just another hurdle - and more suffering for families already struggling.

"I think it's an attack specifically on working-class folks, in our state and across the United States," she said. "Taking away the few bucks that somebody's getting in food stamps every month if they're making $30,000 a year, people are going to go hungry, even more than they already are."

As of April, almost 420,000 people in Nevada received SNAP benefits, a drop of 4.4% from April 2018. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the change would push more than 3 million people off the program, and save the government $2.5 billion a year.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, in announcing the policy, said it would fix a loophole that allows some people to take benefits they don't need. But Zemke countered that the rising cost of living means more and more working poor families are finding they can't afford basic necessities.

"Working a minimum wage in Nevada for $8.25 or $7.25, you can't even afford a place to live," she said. "You can't even rent a room and make that much, let alone feed yourself or your family."

The maximum a single person with no kids can make to qualify for SNAP is $1,247 a month, and the maximum benefit is $194 a month. Most people who get SNAP benefits have to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify.

Public comments about the proposal are being taken at regulations.gov for 60 days.

The SNAP Rule proposal is online at fns.usda.gov.


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BISMARCK, N.D. – This weekend marks the 52nd anniversary of the Medicaid program, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 30, 1965.

Medicaid provides insurance for children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, seniors and low-income adults, and 114,000 North Dakotans currently are enrolled in the program.

Amy Thom is a social worker whose daughter Emory suffers from epilepsy due to a rare disorder called Sturge-Weber Syndrome. Emory has undergone numerous therapies and receives therapy in school thanks to Medicaid. Thom says she and her husband also get in-home services for her daughter.

"We aren't able to just leave her with a typical babysitter and maybe go out to supper one night, or even to just run out and do a couple errands,” she points out. “And so, Medicaid has helped that piece. We have the in-home supports that we can hire respite to come in an hour or two here or there."

Thom notes that both she and her husband are insured and use Medicaid as supplemental coverage for Emory. She says her family would pay about $11,000 out-of-pocket each year without it.

Friday at noon, speakers will be on the Burleigh County Courthouse lawn in Bismarck, celebrating the anniversary of Medicaid's signing.

The Trump administration and the U.S. House have proposed massive cuts to the program to bring down the federal deficit. Along with changes to the Affordable Care Act in the American Health Care Act, the House budget would slash $1.5 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade.

Mike Chaussee, associate state director for advocacy at AARP North Dakota, says an unlikely alliance has formed to oppose cuts.

"It's not always that the health care industry and the consumer advocates are fighting for something together,” he states. “And in this fight, we all agree on how important it is to save Medicaid."

Chaussee says the program has been especially helpful for seniors who aren't able to fully cover nursing or in-home costs through Medicare. He calls the program a "lifeline" for many seniors.

Thom says she wants to advocate for the people who can't advocate for themselves.

"I think it's incredibly important because it's people's lives, and it affects the quality that they're able to have, and there's amazing services out there," she stresses.





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BOISE, Idaho - The Trump administration released its proposal to balance the country's budget over the next decade on Tuesday, and says it will require large cuts to domestic programs to do it.

More than $800 billion would be slashed from Medicaid by 2027.

Lauren Necochea, director of Idaho Voices for Children, said the math doesn't add up for children from lower-income families, who would see large cuts to their health-care coverage.

"When we talk about cuts to Medicaid, we're talking about cuts to children's health coverage, because in Idaho, about 75 percent of the Medicaid enrollees are children," Necochea said. "The Trump budget cuts even more deeply than the American Health Care Act, and also makes cuts to the Children's Health Insurance Program."

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) would see a 20 percent reduction in funds next year. CHIP serves more than 5.5 million children nationwide.

Presidential budgets are mostly recommendations, laying out an administration's priorities. They don't set spending in stone; it's up to Congress to pass a final budget.

The White House proposal also includes a paid family-leave program, giving new parents up to six weeks of paid time off. Necochea agreed that family leave would help parents - but pointed to other ways the administration looks to save money, such as cutting $193 billion from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or food stamps, over the decade.

"It's great to start a conversation about family leave," she said, "but this comes in the context of a proposal that dramatically reduces family economic stability."

If enacted, Necochea said, the proposal would shift many costs to the states. She said she isn't sure Idaho could pick up the bill for all the cuts at once.

The budget proposal is online at whitehouse.gov.


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