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August 23, 2017 12:31 PM UTC

Gardner Vows Again To Slash Medicaid

  • 13 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

As the Pueblo Chieftain’s Peter Roper reports, the long failure of the GOP replacement for the Affordable Care Act and furious backlash from his own constituents has resulted in an interesting new addition to Sen. Cory Gardner’s pitch on health care:

Gardner, a Republican who was part of the Senate GOP team that fashioned a failed Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, was targeted by the disabled community this summer to oppose reductions in the Medicaid insurance program they rely on for home health services.

Gardner said Medicaid spending in both the federal and state budgets has swollen rapidly.

“But we should be able to design protections for (the disabled) at the state level,” he said during a question period at the farm bureau meeting. [Pols emphasis]

That’s an answer he didn’t provide in June and July when disabled activists were besieging his office. Gardner said has met with those groups as well as heard from them last week in raucous town hall meetings in Greeley, Lakewood and Colorado Springs.

It may be a new addition to Gardner’s well-rehearsed talking points on health care, but coming from a U.S. Senator, the assurance that “the states” will take care of those most at risk from most from cuts to Medicaid funding is cold comfort–even dismissive of any problem. From a policy perspective Gardner is proposing nothing new, just restating that “block granting” Medicaid funding would shift the responsibility to the states to care for all segments of the Medicaid population. Slightly revised talking point, same plan.

The same plan that would have pared hundreds of billions from future spending irrespective of the growing cost of care. And would insure millions fewer people. The same plan that just failed.

If you were wondering if Gardner might have made some progress on health care during this August recess beyond the wreckage of the GOP’s last attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act–perhaps been receptive to some message he heard during his long-awaited town halls–it looks like you can stop wondering.

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13 thoughts on “Gardner Vows Again To Slash Medicaid”

  2. Now you have to wonder if a softer approach with Gardner at his town halls would have made any difference in his determination to curtail Medicaid coverage.  I would tend to think that the only thing that will make a difference in Gardner's perspective is going to be at the ballot box in 2020.  The guy is inflexible and incapable of updating his information on the subject or modifying his positions.  Hopefully Trump as pissed off McCain to the point that Gardner won't be the deciding factor in future legislation.

    1. Agreed, GG. He's sticking to his talking points, shading them if he gets enough heat, but will push on to 2020. He's confident his snake oil will be a great seller again.

  4. This Medicaid block grant proposal,  (punt-the decision-on-health-care-to-the-states) is something Gardner promoted in the one town hall in which Gardner ever answered a question from me.

    My online question at 49:14: Why do you think that a block grant program would provide better care than the ACA plan?

    CG: This is probably the plan put forward by Bill Cassidy and Lindsay Graham… Colorado can design a program for Colorado better than Washington, DC can. Giving more power over those decisions to the state is a step in the right direction. I haven’t seen legislative language on the Cassidy / Graham bill yet. But if can empower Coloradans to do what’s best for Colorado, I think we have a better outcome.

    At most, the "block grant Medicaid to the states" proposal is a cynical ploy to try to kick the can down the road past the 2018 elections.

    It seems unconstitutional.  Every time SCOTUS has had to decide if states can treat people unequally, they have said "No". Even this SCOTUS.

  5. I have been emailing gardner all along…I am tying him to the republican nazi party…I will continue to work against gardner, and tipton…they are the useful toads of the nazi/facists of the party…they spread the lies, and spread the misinformation…they must be thrown out of office…and at this point I really don't care how….

  6. The income limits for Medicaid are horrendous. Make more than $15K and lose your Medicaid. I have a seasonal employee that was earning only $10/hr and she has to quit or lose her Medicaid. Bad for me, terrible for her.

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