| In April, Jen Kiggans and Rob Wittman signed a letter from so-called “moderate” Republicans to GOP House leadership citing their purported concern about Congressional Republicans’ draconian plan to cut up to $880 billion in Medicaid. Kiggans and Wittman wrote that they “will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations,” but did not provide specifics on what Medicaid cuts they would support.
This afternoon at 4:30 p.m. House GOP leadership is scheduled to meet with these so-called GOP moderates, including Kiggans and Wittman, in an attempt to strike a deal on Medicaid cuts.
Last week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said that he was confident that so-called “moderate” Republicans would support cuts to the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) and the per capita spending caps – both of which would lead to massive Medicaid cuts in Virginia. FMAP cuts and per capita caps were among a list of options circulated by House Republican leaders last week, as they plan to finalize a Medicaid cut plan ahead of a key committee vote during the week of May 12.
When she was originally running for state Senate in 2019, Kiggans told WAVY News that “no, I do not” want to roll back Virginia’s Medicaid expansion.
Due to a “trigger” provision in state law, every Virginian enrolled in Medicaid expansion will automatically lose their health care if federal funding, or FMAP, levels for the program drop below 90%.
As Reps. Kiggans and Wittman meet with House leadership today, Virginians deserve to know if they would support either of the following cuts, which Majority Leader Scalise indicated “our most vulnerable members” would accept:
1. Cuts to FMAP for expansion population (which would activate Virginia’s trigger, kicking 629,000 people in the expansion population off their health care)
2. Per capita caps for expansion population (which would also likely result in Virginia’s trigger being activated)
“Jen Kiggans and Rob Wittman signed a letter in which they claimed to care about how Medicaid cuts would affect the vulnerable, but they said nothing about the expansion population specifically, which includes many older adults, working adults, veterans, and people fighting illnesses like cancer,” said Katie Baker, Virginia State Director for Protect Our Care. “House leadership has set their eyes on cuts to expansion, so Virginians deserve to know where Kiggans and Wittman stand on these two measures, especially given our status as a trigger state. The health care of more than 600,000 people is at stake. The question is: Will Representatives Kiggans and Wittman stand up for Virginians’ health care or will they stand with their radical party leaders?”
Background
o “A per capita cap that results in less federal funding could thus be viewed as pulling this trigger in Virginia”
o “A per capita cap would fundamentally change the Medicaid federal-state partnership by eliminating the federal guaranteed match and transferring new financial risk to states.”
o “States would face tough choices about Medicaid’s future under a per capita cap: maintaining current Medicaid benefit levels and enrollment would require states to pay $1,500 to $2,300 more per enrollee in the final year [FY2034] of the analysis.”
- More than 45,000 people in Rep. Kiggans’ district and more than 37,000 people in Rep. Wittman’s district have access to health care thanks to Medicaid expansion. [DMAS Dashboad]
o Poll after poll after poll finds a majority of voters, including most Republican voters, oppose any cuts to Medicaid. Facing continued pushback from constituents and widespread public outcry, Republicans are feeling the heat for their decision to target the nation’s largest health care provider just to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. Taking a dollar from Americans’ health care to hand a dollar to already-rich people is unfair and indefensible. The GOP is prioritizing billionaires and big companies over everyday Americans, and the fight to stop them is just getting started.
o Republicans Want To Cut The Lifeline That Keeps Rural Hospitals Open. Medicaid helps fund rural hospitals by ensuring more patients can pay for their care. Rural hospitals in Medicaid expansion states are 62 percent less likely to close. In 2023, over 600 rural hospitals were at risk of closing in the near future, almost all of which were within non-expansion states. If Republicans cut Medicaid expansion, more rural hospitals will be forced to close their doors. |
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