Joe Biden on Medicaid: (Abortion Apr 14, 2021)
Restore federal Title X family planning program

PROMISE KEPT: (NPR News, 4/14/21): The Biden administration is moving to reverse a Trump-era family planning policy that critics describe as a domestic "gag rule" for reproductive healthcare providers. The proposal would largely return the federal Title X family planning program to its status before Trump took office. The current rules, implemented by Trump in 2019, forbid any provider who provides or refers patients for abortions from receiving federal funding through Title X to cover services such as contraception and STD screenings for low-income people.

ANALYSIS: Since 1970, the Title X Program provides family planning services, without abortion funding.

Joe Biden on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 2, 2021)
Re-open ACA enrollment; restore ObamaCare to pre-Trump level

PROMISE KEPT:(Executive Order on Medicare 1/28/21): It is the policy of my Administration to protect and strengthen Medicaid and the ACA and to make high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for every American. In light of the exceptional circumstances caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, establish a Special Enrollment Period for uninsured and under-insured Americans to seek coverage through the Federally Facilitated Marketplace.

OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Biden made his promise at the beginning of the pandemic, and all healthcare policy in 2021 is tied up with the pandemic. Biden has largely restored ObamaCare cuts--by reopening ACA enrollment--and largely subsidized ObamaCare--via pandemic spending and pandemic justification.

Gina Raimondo on Medicaid: (Health Care Dec 2, 2020)
Privatized & cut budgets for Medicaid

Joe Biden on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 22, 2020)
ObamaCare plus a public option makes BidenCare

BIDEN: What I'm going to do is pass ObamaCare with a public option, and become BidenCare. The public option says that if you qualify for Medicaid and you do not have the wherewithal in your state to get Medicaid, you automatically are enrolled, providing competition for insurance companies. That's what's going to happen. Secondly, we're going to make sure we reduce the premiums and reduce drug prices by making sure that there's competition, that doesn't exist now, by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with the insurance companies. Thirdly, the idea that I want to eliminate private insurance, the reason why I had such a fight with 20 candidates for the nomination was I support private insurance. That's why. Not one single person with private insurance would lose their insurance under my plan, nor did they under ObamaCare. They did not lose their insurance unless they chose they wanted to go to something else.

John Hickenlooper on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 2, 2020)
ACA led to successful state marketplace & Medicaid expansion

John Hickenlooper on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 30, 2020)
I will always stand up for Medicaid

A: I support strengthening programs that help seniors stay in their homes. By approving transportation options and controlling housing and health care costs, we can help more people live life on their own terms. We need to strengthen protections for seniors in long-term health care facilities as well. Not only that, but many seniors depend on Medicaid for long-term care. I will always stand up for Medicaid and every person's right to access quality and affordable care.

Joe Biden on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 29, 2020)
Public option won't end private insurance; only for Medicaid

BIDEN: It does not. It's only for those people who are so poor they qualify for Medicaid they can get that free in most states, except Governors who want to deny people who are poor Medicaid. Anyone who qualifies for Medicaid would automatically be enrolled in the public option. The vast majority of the American people would still not be in that option.

Donald Trump on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 28, 2020)
Improve Medicare by looking for fraud, waste and abuse

TRUMP: We're looking at that very seriously. These are incredible people. They have been unrecognized for the job they do, and if they didn't do that job, we'd be swamped; our hospitals and our health care system would be swamped.

Q: That would be through Medicare or Medicaid?

TRUMP: We think so, yes. We're looking at that as being probably the best alternative. Management can be improved. One of the biggest ways of doing that, as you know, is look at fraud, waste and abuse. By the way, [Medicare] Part D premiums are lower by around 12 percent. We've done a lot, but there is a big thing on fraud, waste and abuse, and we'll take care of that.

Steve Bullock on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 28, 2020)
Passed Medicaid expansion with bipartisan support

Mike Pence on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 22, 2020)
Medicare & Medicaid greatest threat to those under 40

Pence termed entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid as 'the greatest threat there is to those under the age of 40.' He said Medicare and Medicaid in their current forms 'threaten the economic vitality of future generations' and are currently 'fraught with waste, fraud and abuse.' He recommended states be put in charge of Medicaid programs." [Decatur Daily Democrat, 4/28/11]

Mike Pence on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 22, 2020)
Pay uninsured $1000 a year to buy health insurance

Mike Pence on Medicaid: (Immigration Sep 22, 2020)
Opposed SCHIP expansion for elimination of citizenship proof

Steve Bullock on Medicaid: (Health Care Jul 7, 2020)
Medicaid expansion has kept rural hospitals open

Stacey Abrams on Medicaid: (Health Care Jun 9, 2020)
ObamaCare navigators explain new health insurance systems

Justin Amash on Medicaid: (Health Care May 1, 2020)
Private market with government backstop at state level

Stacey Abrams on Medicaid: (Health Care Apr 26, 2020)
Increase production for coronavirus testing; expand Medicaid

Mike Bloomberg on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 26, 2020)
2011: We're going to cut back Medicaid and Medicare

"When you listen to them talk at a federal level, 'I'm going to cut the deficit.' You know, every new group that comes through--keep in mind 2/3 of the federal budget is entitlements and debt service. Debt Service legally, you can't touch, entitlements means seniors. We're going to cut back Medicaid and Medicare, we're going to have to do something, but that's going to be a very tough lift," Bloomberg said.

Mike Bloomberg on Medicaid: (Social Security Feb 26, 2020)
2009: Called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme"

Mike Bloomberg on Medicaid: (Social Security Feb 26, 2020)
2009: Social Security a Ponzi scheme, 2020: boost receipts

A spokesman for Bloomberg defended him: "Mike believes that between now and that time, we will need to boost receipts by raising contributions from those who can best afford it."

Pete Buttigieg on Medicaid: (Government Reform Feb 25, 2020)
21st century voting rights: core of Frederick Douglass plan

We're seeing hospital closures right and left. And we're seeing them, in particular, in states where Medicaid was not expanded, something that is hurting black and poor white families and is largely the result of racial voters suppression.

See, all of these things are connected, housing, wages, the ability to get anything done on criminal justice reform. All of these things are going to be harder to deal with as long as black voices are systematically excluded from political participation, which is happening on everything from the purging of voter rolls to the closing of voting locations. And that harms everyone.

It's why in my Frederick Douglass plan for comprehensively dealing with these issues, part of the core of it is a 21st Century Voting Rights Act.

Joe Biden on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 20, 2020)
Public option for ObamaCare; $50 billion for research

BIDEN: I would restore all the cuts this president has made in the Affordable Care Act, across the board. I add what they call a public option, and that is a Medicare-like option. If you wanted to buy into that option or if you didn't have the money, you would be able to get it for free. So it's Medicare if you want it. If you qualify for Medicaid and you don't have it in your state, you're automatically enrolled. There is no waiting for anything.

Secondly, we make sure we reduce drug prices, as well, allowing Medicare to be able to negotiate with the drug companies the cost of drugs. And I would invest over $50 billion to focus on the diseases that cause the most damage and cost the most--cancer, Alzheimer's, and obesity.

We should have a department that says what we're going to do is spend the money needed that the drug companies are unwilling to spend or unable to spend to make sure that we find cures.

Mike Bloomberg on Medicaid: (Government Reform Jan 20, 2020)
Ensure equal status for Puerto Ricans; supports statehood

Cory Booker on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
Forbid charging more for drugs in U.S. than elsewhere

BOOKER: We're going to use Medicaid, Medicare to negotiate down prices, taking patents away from companies that unjustly raise their prices, creating a law that you cannot raise the price of drugs higher in this country than you're selling in others.

Joe Sestak on Medicaid: (Health Care Jul 16, 2019)
Create "public option," allow Canadian drug imports

Tom Steyer on Medicaid: (Health Care Jul 4, 2019)
Women need reproductive care; GOP wants to take it away

Amy Klobuchar on Medicaid: (Health Care Jun 26, 2019)
Medicare/Medicaid can be step towards universal care

Donald Trump on Medicaid: (Budget & Economy Jun 25, 2019)
I alone can fix it, with massive tax cut

Steve Bullock on Medicaid: (Families & Children May 11, 2019)
Supports same-sex marriage in Montana

Amy Klobuchar on Medicaid: (Health Care Apr 22, 2019)
Supports public option for Medicaid & Medicare

Bernie Sanders on Medicaid: (Health Care Apr 2, 2019)
State-by-state Medicaid expansion is a major step

The House vote to approve expansion in March attracted national attention. Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, called it a "major step." But since then, the Senate hasn't taken action on the legislation.

If Kansas increases eligibility in the program, which provides health coverage to low-income individuals and individuals with disabilities, to 138% of the federal poverty level, then the federal government will pay for 90% of the cost. For a family of four, that's $35,535 a year. The state's share of the cost of expansion has been estimated at somewhere between $34 million and $47 million a year.

Amy Klobuchar on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 31, 2019)
For public option, taking on Big Pharma

Steve Bullock on Medicaid: (Welfare & Poverty Mar 30, 2019)
Passed statewide Earned Income Tax Credit

John Hickenlooper on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 26, 2019)
Implemented ObamaCare and expanded Medicaid in Colorado

John Hickenlooper on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 20, 2019)
Against single payer; supports public option

I don't agree with the single-payer approach. I understand that we need a public option. Health care should be a right, not a privilege.

I want to support any way we can get to universal coverage. That should be our first and primary goal. But I also recognize that there are north of 150 million people that have insurance through your place of business. I am more focused on how we make sure that we get to universal coverage, but at the same time, maintain and improve quality and controlling costs.

Beto O`Rourke on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 17, 2019)
Protect existing priorities, then expand Medicare & Medicaid

1. "The quickest way to get there in my mind is to ensure that we protect the safeguards that we already have."
2. "Expansion of Medicaid in those states that haven't done it."
3. "Allow people to buy in to Medicare who are not already covered by employer insurance."
4. "Ensure that there is an effective guarantee, so that even if you have insurance but are unable to afford the co-pay, that we guarantee you that you are going to get the care, or the medication that you need."

Jay Inslee on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 1, 2019)
Take initial steps towards universal health care

Amy Klobuchar on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 18, 2019)
Medicare-for-All for the future; public option now

A: I believe we have to get to universal health care in this country. We have to make sure that we build on the work of the Affordable Care Act. We need to expand coverage so that people can have a choice for a public option. You can do it with Medicare. You could also do it with Medicaid. This is a bill that I am an original co-sponsor of. It basically says let's expand Medicaid so you can buy into Medicaid and it will bring the prices down and we can cover more people. The other part of the equation is doing something about prescription drugs. I have one of the original bills to push to have Medicare negotiate prices, lift the ban, bring in less expensive drugs from Canada and stop the practice where pharma pays off generics to keep their products off the market.

Q: And Medicare for all?

A: I think it's something that we can look to for the future, but I want to get action now.

Bill Weld on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 15, 2019)
Supports increased Medicaid access

Steve Bullock on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 31, 2019)
Medicaid expansion good for business & jobs

Stacey Abrams on Medicaid: (Health Care Nov 4, 2018)
Medicaid expansion for reduced cost & preexisting conditions

ABRAMS: I don't think that he's wrong. I think that, as a national conversation, there certainly should be an ongoing review of what Medicare-for-All can do. But a single state cannot make that change. Georgia does not have the financial capacity to provide that type of coverage. That is a federal conversation. In Georgia, we have to do the fundamentals, including the expansion of Medicaid. That's how we provide access to health care. That's how we reduce costs. That's how we protect preexisting conditions. My focus is on how I can serve Georgia, and that means a focus on Medicaid expansion.

Stacey Abrams on Medicaid: (Health Care Nov 4, 2018)
Paying for uncompensated care brings money back

ABRAMS: Georgia spends about $1.75 billion per year on uncompensated care. That's health care costs. By expanding Medicaid, we can join states like Kentucky that cut that number in half. That's savings that will go directly into providing access. My plan is to put money back into the pockets of hardworking Georgians. And all of the plans I have proposed, which are detailed, specific, and have pay-fors, all of those programs can be done under our current budget in the state of Georgia. What's more important is that the economic benefit to our state is dramatic, thousands of more jobs, thousands of good-paying jobs, access to health care coverage, and improvement for our state overall.

Q: So, you're telling Georgia families that none of them are going to have to pay higher taxes with you as governor?

ABRAMS: I do not intend to raise taxes. That is not the necessity.

Bill Nelson on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 31, 2018)
Medicaid expansion is difference between life or death

Beto O`Rourke on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 18, 2018)
Open to different ways to get to universal health care

Ron DeSantis on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 9, 2018)
Repeal ObamaCare; health care isn't a right

Ron DeSantis (R): Voted to repeal ACA. No FL Medicaid expansion. Says health care isn't a right. The right is to pursue the type of healthcare you want. ObamaCare infringes on that.

Andrew Gillum (D): Support & strengthen ACA, guarantee care for pre-existing conditions, expand Medicaid in Florida. Work toward "Medicare for all."

Bernie Sanders on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 9, 2018)
Impose Medicaid requirements on states

The Sanders bill would retain Medicaid for purposes of providing long-term services and supports, and would impose requirements on states to maintain eligibility standards and expenditures on long-term services and supports at 2017 levels.

Steve Bullock on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 29, 2018)
Got Medicaid expansion through a GOP-dominated legislature

Ron DeSantis on Medicaid: (Health Care Aug 31, 2018)
No right to health care; that's just a bureaucratic right

DeSantis hasn't laid out a specific platform on health care and has said little about health care policy. His issues page on his website, which was published a week before the primary, doesn't include the subject. In a debate with GOP primary opponent Adam Putnam, he indicated health care wasn't a right.

"What I think you have a right to do is pursue the type of health care you want. ObamaCare infringes on your freedom to be able to do that," DeSantis said. "Democrats are saying that there's a bureaucratic right where you create bureaucracies."

John Delaney on Medicaid: (Health Care May 29, 2018)
Let 55-year-olds buy into Medicare

The second good part of the ACA consists of adjustments that were made to improve coverage and change incentives. One excellent example is the rule that people with preexisting conditions can no longer be excluded from coverage.

The crucial mistake was the way the health care exchanges were structured. If you're individually insured, or uninsured, and you don't qualify for Medicaid, you can buy insurance on the exchange. But in an effort to protect people between the ages of 55 and 65, the ACA mandated that the exchanges could charge them only up to three times the cost of the cheapest policy on offer. Did someone forget to do the math? Health care costs for people in that age range are, on average, six times what they are for young, healthy people. My solution would be to let people over 55 buy into Medicare.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 30, 2018)
$112M for mental health hospital, plus Medicaid expansion

Kasich, now about nine months from leaving office, also urged majority GOP lawmakers--and the next governor--to not do away with Medicaid expansion that he pushed so hard to implement. "It will be very easy to cut the programs that help people who need help," he said. "Don't let it happen, folks, because you won't have the services for mental health, for drug addiction and to help the uninsured."

Part of the two-year capital budget seeks to address mental health and drug addiction problems that continue to plague the state. That includes funding to replace the 178-bed facility at Twin Valley, which Kasich said he agreed to fund over a recommendation against it from his budget director.

Bernie Sanders on Medicaid: (Welfare & Poverty Aug 29, 2017)
Welfare to low-wage workers subsidizes profitable companies

Stacey Abrams on Medicaid: (Health Care Aug 17, 2017)
Expand Medicaid; explore universal coverage

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Social Security Aug 6, 2017)
Deal with all entitlements or we'll drown in debt

KASICH: Look, this is just insurance. At some point, we have got to deal with the underlying problem that is caused by rising health care. At the same time, Gov. Hickenlooper and I have talked about the issue of entitlements. Look, we're going to drown our children and grandchildren in debt, which is going to kill our economy, if we don't begin to deal with Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, all the entitlements, and start to get this problem of rising debt under control. So, this could be a good start.

Q [to Hickenlooper]: Are there other issues on which governors can work together like this?

Gov. John HICKENLOOPER (D-CO): Oh, sure, almost anything. We should be able to roll up our sleeves say, "we may disagree about this, but we all agree that we want to make sure that everybody has a chance to earn their own future."

Gavin Newsom on Medicaid: (Homeland Security Jun 11, 2017)
Don't gut programs to pay for military buildup

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Apr 5, 2017)
Medicaid expansion brought health care to 700,000 people

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 19, 2017)
Reforming ObamaCare ok; cutting coverage is not

KASICH [on video]: I don't know about you, but when I get to the pearly gates, I'm going to have an answer for what I have done for the poor."

Q: Republican leaders in Congress signaled this week they want to sharply reduce federal payments to 31 states. From your perspective, is that an un-Christian thing?

KASICH: There are 700,000 Ohioans who now get care who didn't have it before. A quarter of them have chronic conditions. And to turn our back on them makes no sense. Now, I believe there is an ability to reform, to repeal and replace ObamaCare which also includes a reform of Medicaid that will make the program more affordable, that will put us in a position of where we can continue to cover 20 million people and 700,000 in my state. And I'm not going to sit silent and just allow them to rip that out.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 19, 2017)
Very, very bad idea to phase out Medicaid expansion

Stacey Abrams on Medicaid: (Gun Control Jul 18, 2016)
State should enact reasonable restrictions on guns

Steve Bullock on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 21, 2016)
Worked with legislature to expand Medicaid

OnTheIssues Note: "Medicaid expansion" is a major aspect of ObamaCare implementation at the state level. As of 2016, sixteen states rejected Medicaid expansion; of those, 15 have Republican governors.

Gina Raimondo on Medicaid: (Drugs Feb 26, 2016)
Address substance use disorders outside of emergency rooms

The Reinventing Medicaid Act of 2015 included more than 40 individual initiatives designed to transform how the state pays for health care services. The initiatives include:
• Contracting with Accountable Care Entities that have a financial incentive to manage the total costs and quality of care for Medicaid beneficiaries. To date, five Accountable Care Entities have signed up for the program.
• A special Accountable Entity program designed to serve Rhode Islanders with serious mental illness, some of the most vulnerable and high-cost Medicaid clients.
• A program to address the needs of Rhode Islanders with substance use disorders so they are served better outside of the emergency room.
• A program to serve people who are at high risk of homelessness.
• Reforms to the Cedar program which offer parents of children special needs with more choices and flexibility.
• Better enforcement, through new electronic monitoring systems, of Medicaid rules around waste, fraud and abuse.

Gina Raimondo on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 26, 2016)
Reinvent Medicaid: expand and improve access

"While there is more work to do, Rhode Island is up to the challenge of expanding access to quality health care and controlling costs," Raimondo said. "We could have kicked the can down the road. Instead, we worked with the legislature to pass a comprehensive, progressive package of reforms that transforms our system to reward quality. Our reforms will ensure more Rhode Islanders have access to important health care services."

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 25, 2016)
Give financial incentive for low cost & good outcomes

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 13, 2016)
Ohio expanded Medicaid but not for ObamaCare

BUSH: I admire the fact that Governor Kasich is supporting spending more money on drug treatment and mental health. I think that's a high priority, but expanding ObamaCare is what we're talking about, and ObamaCare's expansion, even though the federal government is paying for the great majority of it, is creating further debt on the backs of our children.

KASICH: When Jeb was governor, his first four years as governor, his Medicaid program grew twice as fast as mine. With ObamaCare, I've not only sued the administration, I did not set up an exchange. Jeb knows that I'm not for ObamaCare, never have been.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 13, 2016)
We save $22,500 a year by treating addicts & mentally ill

KASICH: Our Medicaid programs are coming in below cost estimates, and our program in the second year grew 2.5 percent. When we expand Medicaid and treat the mentally ill, they don't live under a bridge or in a prison, where they cost $22,500 a year. When we take the drug addicted and we treat them, we stop the revolving door of people in and out of prisons and ave $22,500 a year.

Mike Pence on Medicaid: (Drugs Jan 12, 2016)
Confront the growing epidemic of drug abuse

Hillary Clinton on Medicaid: (Health Care Dec 19, 2015)
States that didn't extend Medicaid drive up costs still

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Nov 10, 2015)
We reduced Medicaid funding by 7.5% with no benefit cuts

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 28, 2015)
Ohio took Medicaid from 10% to 2.5%

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Principles & Values Oct 28, 2015)
Get this country moving again

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Abortion Sep 16, 2015)
Defund Planned Parenthood, like we are trying in Ohio

KASICH: Well, I agree that we should defund Planned Parenthood. I don't know many people in America who don't think that we should, and in my state, we're trying to figure out how to get it done, because we are threatened with the federal government taking all of our Medicaid money away. I think there is a way to get this done by giving governors the ability to be able to act to defund Planned Parenthood. But when it comes to closing down the federal government, you gotta be very careful about that. I was in the Congress for 18 years; there are ways to do it without having to shut the government down, but I'm sympathetic to the fact that we don't want this organization to get funding, and the money ought to be reprogrammed for family planning in other organizations that don't support this tactic.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Crime Aug 16, 2015)
Save money by converting prisoners to taxpayers

A: Well, it relates to things like early childhood education, poor kids, people who are in prison, giving them a chance to get their lives back if they want to earn their way there. But let me say that I knew that, number one, we would save money by taking people out of prison and letting them get a job where they could become a taxpayer. To me conservatism is giving everybody a chance to be able to be successful.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Aug 6, 2015)
Expand Medicaid; everybody has a right to God-given purpose

KASICH: First of all, President Reagan expanded Medicaid 3 or 4 times. Secondly, I had an opportunity to bring resources back to Ohio. And the working poor, instead of them having come into the emergency rooms where it costs more, where they're sicker and we end up paying, we brought a program in here to make sure that people could get on their feet. And do you know what? Everybody has a right to their God-given purpose. Our Medicaid is growing at one of the lowest rates in the country. And, finally, we went from $8 billion in the hole to $2 billion in the black. We've cut $5 billion in taxes and we've grown 350,000 jobs.

Ted Cruz on Medicaid: (War & Peace Aug 6, 2015)
If you wage jihad on America, you sign your death warrant

CRUZ: When I asked that to General Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs, he said there is no military solution. We need to change the conditions on the ground so that young men are not in poverty and susceptible to radicalization. That, with all due respect, is nonsense. It's the same answer the State Department gave that we need to give them jobs. What we need is a commander in chief that makes clear, if you join ISIS, if you wage jihad on America, then you are signing your death warrant. I introduced the Expatriate Terrorist Act that said if any American travels to the Middle East and joins ISIS, that he or she forfeits their citizenship so they don't use a passport to come back and wage jihad on Americans.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Aug 2, 2015)
Opposes ObamaCare but not all public programs

A: I'm opposed to ObamaCare and I've been clear on that. In addition to that, instead of locking people up in prison who have mental health [problems], we give them treatment and keep them out and that saves us money. Instead of putting the drug addicted person back in prison and having them be released and back in prison, we treat them and we have a 10% recidivism rate. And for the working poor, instead of us all paying uncompensated care when they go in there and they don't have insurance, they now have health care so they're not sicker and more expensive. Now, we not only save money by doing this, and morally, we're letting people get up on their feet and have a better life. In regard to Medicaid, however, we bring our money back to treat people here in Ohio. I would [prefer to] block grant it, empowering states to deal with those who are sick and poor, so it's not a one-size-fits-all mentality.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Welfare & Poverty Aug 2, 2015)
There are moral and practical reasons to help the poor

KASICH: First of all, it's not about being a Christian--the Jewish and Christian principles of this country say basically the same thing. Look, I'm a public official, but I'm also a leader in terms of how this country ought to move. My sense is that it is important that we do not ignore the poor, the widowed, the disabled. I just think that's the way America is. And I think there's a moral aspect to it. In my state, there's not only a moral aspect where some people's lives have been saved because of what we've done, but it also saves us money in the long run.

Bernie Sanders on Medicaid: (Social Security Mar 21, 2015)
Strengthen the social safety net, instead of weakening it

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Welfare & Poverty Mar 7, 2015)
Matthew 25 commands us to aid the less fortunate

For those in need of a New Testament refresher: In Matthew 25, Jesus admonishes his followers to aid the less fortunate. Kasich has cited the passage repeatedly of late in defending his ObamaCare-fueled Medicaid expansion--an act of Republican apostasy that prompted widespread dismay among his party brethren.

He gets back on track: "With this whole spiritual element, let's get away from the judgment side of it. I think it's actually what the Pope's trying to do. The Pope's saying, 'Why don't we get into the feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and helping the imprisoned and helping the lonely? That's what we're commanded to do. To me, this is a gift that I've been able to feel this way."

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 11, 2015)
Accepted ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion statewide

Steve Bullock on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 28, 2015)
Insure the working poor with federal dollars

HB 249 Legislative Summary: A bill for an act entitled: "an act creating the Healthy Montana Act to expand health care coverage to additional individuals and improve access to health care services; establishing a health care coverage program to provide certain low-income Montanans with access to health care services using Medicaid funds and an arrangement with a third-party administrator; providing support for health care delivery across Montana; and establishing a special revenue account.

Bernie Sanders on Medicaid: (Social Security Jan 15, 2015)
We must strengthen the social safety net, not weaken it

Health Care as a Right for All:
The United States must join the rest of the industrialized world and recognize that health care is a right of all, and not a privilege. Despite the fact that more than 40 million Americans have no health insurance, we spend almost twice as much per capita on health care as any other nation. We need to establish a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 20, 2014)
FactCheck: 7M new Medicaid includes woodwork & normal churn

Is it true? The Facts: ObamaCare expands Medicaid to individuals with incomes of up to 138% of the poverty level. So far, 25 states have expanded Medicaid. Because of the ACA, the number of Americans on Medicaid will increase by 8 million in 2014.

That figure includes some people who were previously eligible for Medicaid but had never signed up before all the publicity about new health-care options (known as people coming out of the "woodwork"), and also includes people previously enrolled in Medicaid who are deemed eligible for another year (in other words, "normal churn").

[Those two categories add up to as much as 4.8 million people, although states don't report those figures well, so much is left to guesswork. Obama's estimate would mean those two categories are only 1 million people]. No matter how you slice it, it does not add up to 7 million.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 29, 2014)
FactCheck: Yes, 9M signed up, but only 3M are newly insured

THE FACTS: That's not to say 9 million more Americans have gained insurance under the law. The administration says about 6 million people have been determined to be eligible for Medicaid since Oct. 1 and an additional 3 million roughly have signed up for private health insurance through the new markets created by the health care law. That's where Obama's number of 9 million comes from. But it's unclear how many in the Medicaid group were already eligible for the program or renewing existing coverage.

Likewise, it's not known how many of those who signed up for private coverage were previously insured. One large survey suggests the uninsured rate for US adults dropped by 1.2 percentage points in January, to 16.1%. That would translate to roughly 2 million to 3 million newly insured people since the law's coverage expansion started Jan. 1.

Mike Pence on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 26, 2014)
Healthy Indiana: expand Medicaid but with "skin in the game"

Nikki Haley on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 22, 2014)
Reject ObamaCare state exchange; reject Medicaid expansion

But as a state, and as an elected government, we will not be victims in this process. We rejected the federal government's less than generous offer to run a state exchange, an offer that would have Washington bureaucrats dictating the exchange and South Carolinians paying for it.

And, with your help, we emphatically said no to the central component of ObamaCare, the expansion of a broken Medicaid program that is already cannibalizing our budget, and would completely destroy it in the years to come.

These were not decisions made lightly, without thought or analysis. But I am fully convinced that South Carolina will be better for them, and I pledge to you this: we will continue to fight ObamaCare every step of the way.

Mike Pence on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 14, 2014)
Medicaid is not just broke, it is broken

There's been a lot of talk about Medicaid. The sad truth is that traditional Medicaid is not just broke, it is broken. Research shows that the program does not lead to better health outcomes and in some cases hurts the very people it is supposed to help. One analysis found 2/3 of the children on Medicaid who needed to see a specialist, couldn't. Traditional Medicaid is not a system we need to expand. It's a system we need to change. The Healthy Indiana Plan is the right place to start.

The Healthy Indiana Plan is consumer-driven healthcare that moves people from emergency rooms to primary care and encourages low-income Hoosiers to take more ownership of their own healthcare decisions.

Rand Paul on Medicaid: (Health Care Nov 3, 2013)
ObamaCare cuts hundreds of choices down to just four

PAUL: Nearly 90% of them are signing up for Medicaid, free health insurance from the government. My concern is not that we shouldn't help people. I do want to help these people to get insurance. But there is going to be a cost. So I see the positive, but I also see the negative. And the real problem is we're driving everyone out of the individual market. Where there were once hundreds of plans that you could choose from, there's now four government-mandated plans. If your insurance is not as good as them, or even if it's too good, you can't buy it.

Q: If the web site problems are fixed, will ObamaCare work?

PAUL: You know, I think government is inherently inept, because they don't work on a profit motive. Government has to do certain things. But government shouldn't take on new things to do when it's not managing what it has now.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 28, 2013)
Expand Medicaid to 275,000 poor Ohioans, but not ObamaCare

In his three years as governor, he has expanded programs for the mentally ill, fought the nursing home lobby to bring down Medicaid costs

Yet, at the same time Ohio under Mr. Kasich refused to run its own state insurance exchange as encouraged by the health care law, known as the Affordable Care Act. The governor said he did not believe that the law, which mandates that people buy insurance, will work. To the contrary, he said, "It's going to throw people out of work and not control costs."

Donald Trump on Medicaid: (Social Security Mar 15, 2013)
Cannot change Medicare or Soc.Sec. and still win elections

Joe Biden on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 11, 2012)
Medicare gives seniors choice, even if Rx prices negotiated

RYAN: And it would deny seniors choices.

BIDEN: All you seniors out there, have you been denied choices? Have you lost Medicare Advantage?

RYAN: Because it's working well right now.

BIDEN: Because we changed the law!

Q: Why not very slowly raise the Medicare eligibility age by two years, as Congressman Ryan suggests?

BIDEN: I was there when we did that with Social Security, in 1983. We made the system solvent to 2033. We will not, though, be part of any voucher [that says] when you're 65, go out there, shop for the best insurance you can get; you're out of Medicare. This voucher will not keep pace with health care costs, because if it did keep pace with health care costs, there would be no savings.

RYAN: A voucher is you go to your mailbox, get a check and buy something. Nobody's proposing that.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 3, 2012)
Shifting Medicaid to states means some people don't get help

ROMNEY: I would like to take the Medicaid dollars that go to states: you're going to get what you got last year, plus inflation, plus 1%, and then you're going to manage your care for your poor in the way you think best. Don't have the federal government tell everybody what kind of training programs they have to have and what kind of Medicaid they have to have. Let states do this.

OBAMA: Governors are creative. But they're not creative enough to make up for 30% of revenue on something like Medicaid. What ends up happening is some people end up not getting help.

ROMNEY: If a state gets in trouble, well, we can step in and see if we can find a way to help them.

Nikki Haley on Medicaid: (Health Care Apr 3, 2012)
ObamaCare opt-out rules disallow state opt-out

We have good services, but we need to educate people on how to better utilize them and on how to pay more attention to their health.

I told Obama that his health-care plan imposed mandates that South Carolina just couldn't afford. Our annual budget is $5 billion, and we had calculated that his plan would cost us $5 billion over the next 10 years. We expected to see 30% to 40% of our private companies drop their employees' coverage and force their workers into the public system. My question had 2 parts, I told the president. Would he repeal Obamacare? And if not, would he allow South Carolina to opt out of the system?

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 24, 2012)
FactCheck: ObamaCare covers only 1/2 of 30 million uninsured

THE FACTS: That's only half true. About half of the more than 30 million uninsured Americans expected to gain coverage through the health care law will be enrolled in a government program. Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people, will be expanded starting in 2014 to cover childless adults living near the poverty line.

The other half will be enrolled in private health plans through new state-based insurance markets. But many of them will be receiving federal subsidies to make their premiums more affordable. And that's a government program, too.

Starting in 2014 most Americans will be required to carry health coverage, either through an employer, by buying their own plan, or through a government program.

Nikki Haley on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 18, 2012)
Medicaid is a broken system; federal mandates cause problems

Bill Weld on Medicaid: (Health Care Aug 1, 2011)
Relaxed the eligibility rules for care under Medicaid

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 26, 2011)
Repealing healthcare reform would cost $250B

This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. The health insurance law we passed last year will slow these rising costs, which is part of the reason that nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I'm willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year--medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.

Nikki Haley on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 19, 2011)
Let Medicaid buy generics for AIDS, cancer, & mental health

I ask that we strike the proviso prohibiting the HHS Director from setting rates paid to providers through Medicaid. South Carolina is the only state in the nation that doesn't give our Medicaid director that flexibility, and with all due respect, we can't be the only state that has it right.

Bill Nelson on Medicaid: (Health Care May 17, 2010)
"Gator Aid": $2.5B Medicare funding in ObamaCare

• The Louisiana Purchase: Sen. Landrieu was promised an additional $300 million in Medicaid funding for Louisiana.
• The Cornhusker Kickback: Sen. Ben Nelson secured exemptions for Nebraska's Medicaid payments worth around $100 million.
• The U-Con: Sen. Dodd was promised $100 million for a medical center in CT.
• Gator Aid: Sen. Bill Nelson inserted a grandfather clause that would protect Florida's Medicare Advantage program, a $2.5-$3 billion buyoff.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Jan 29, 2010)
Medicare is major driver of our long-term liabilities

Rep. RYAN: No.

Pres. OBAMA: No?

Rep. RYAN: People 55 and above are grandfathered in.

Pres. OBAMA: But just for future beneficiaries, the basic idea would be that at some point we hold Medicare cost per recipient constant as a way of making sure that that doesn't go way out of whack, right?

Rep. RYAN: We drew it as a blend of inflation and health inflation. Medicare is a $38 trillion unfunded liability-- it has to be reformed for younger generations because it's going bankrupt. And the premise of our idea is, why not give people the same kind of health care plan we here have in Congress?

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Government Reform Jan 27, 2010)
Freeze discretionary government spending for 3 years

Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.

We will continue to go through the budget, line by line, page by page, to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Abortion Nov 30, 2009)
2007 bill: discount contraceptives at college health clinics

The liberal media hailed the measure as a victory for women's rights. Other standard media accounts claimed the measure "will allow pharmaceutical companies to once again supply college-health clinics with discounted birth-control pills and other contraceptives."

But this is misleading. There was no law keeping drug makers from selling their contraceptives to college students at discounted prices--known as "nominal pricing." The problem for the drug makers was that, under a 2005 law, if drug makers offered students a discount on contraceptives, they would also have to slightly discount the same drug to Medicaid. Thanks to Pres. Obama, they aren't "penalized" by Medicare anymore for offering college discounts.

Jesse Ventura on Medicaid: (War & Peace Apr 1, 2008)
Iraq war drains resources from social programs

The fact is, this war is not only draining America's resources, it's likely to eventually bankrupt us. And who is paying the biggest price? When you realize that the new Bush budget also cuts $66 billion out of Medicare payments to the elderly over the next 5 years, and another $12 billion out of Medicaid for the poor, it's kind of a no-brainer. The NY Times recently noted that, for what the war is costing, we could've instituted universal health care, provided nursery school education for every 3- and 4-year-old, and immunized kids around the world against numerous diseases--and still had half the money left over.

At the same time, shortly before we turned over supposed control to the Iraqis, the US Federal Reserve sent over, on military aircraft, the biggest cash shipment it's ever made--more than $4 billion, amounting to 363 tons of dollars on these huge pallets.

Hillary Clinton on Medicaid: (Government Reform Feb 11, 2008)
Get D.C. full voting rights, plus more direct federal funds

A: When I was first lady, I fought to increase their Medicaid match so that they would get more money in the district. It is the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, unfortunately, right here in D.C. I worked to make sure that the adoption and foster care system was improved so that we could get more kids into permanent homes. When I helped to pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program, we made sure that D.C. would be well taken care of. So I’ve already produced results for the people of this district, and I intend to do a lot more as president. I want to get full voting rights for D.C. I think it is an injustice that has to be remedied. I want to be a better partner in working with the district on everything from its transportation challenges to its health care problems.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Feb 2, 2008)
No one turned away due to illness or pre-existing condition

The Obama Plan will have the following features:
• Guaranteed Eligibility: No American will be turned away FROM ANY INSURANCE PLAN because of illness or pre-existing conditions.
• Comprehensive Benefits: The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have.
• Affordable Premiums, Co-Pays and Deductibles.
• Subsidies: Those in need who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.
• Simplified Paperwork and Reined in Health Costs.
• Easy Enrollment:
• Portability and Choice Participants will be able to move from job to job without jeopardizing their health care coverage.
• Quality and Efficiency: Insurance companies will be required to report data on quality.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 30, 2007)
Tackle insurance companies on reimbursement system

Hillary Clinton on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 30, 2007)
Insurance companies cannot deny people coverage

Hillary Clinton on Medicaid: (Health Care Jun 28, 2007)
Outcry if AIDS were leading disease of young whites

A: Let me just put this in perspective. If HIV/AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country.

I’m working to get Medicaid to cover treatment. I’m working to raise the budget for Ryan White, which the Bush administration has kept flat, disgracefully so, because there are a lot of women, particularly, who are becoming infected in poor rural areas as well as underserved urban areas in states where, frankly, their state governments won’t give them medical care.

So this is a multiple dimension problem. But if we don’t begin to take it seriously and address it the way we did back in the ‘90s, when it was primarily a gay men’s disease, we will never get the services and the public education that we need.

Mike Gravel on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 24, 2007)
Phase out Medicare and Medicaid over time

A: One of the facets of my plan would be to keep in place Medicare and Medicaid and phase them out over time. Because plans to put everybody on Medicare aren’t going to fly financially and just can’t be met. We are in deep economic difficulty and in debt. So when you talk about the seniors, this is where you have these health regional boards where in that region they’ll be defining what goes into these various vouchers. And they’ll change every year depending upon your personal history as you get older. We know it costs less for young people and it costs more for old people. That’s just the nature of the situation. So I don’t have any magic to take care of the seniors. All I can say is I can set up a structure that will have checks and balances where they’ll have a better say, they’ll have a better say than they have today.

Hillary Clinton on Medicaid: (Health Care Mar 24, 2007)
Require electronic medical record for all federal healthcare

After Hurricane Katrina I went down to Houston to see the people who had been evacuated, most in them from the convention center. The elderly, the frail. People who were very dependent upon health care, their records were gone. Those 15 pieces of paper were destroyed. And a lot of doctors told me their biggest problem was trying to figure out what prescriptions to give to people. The only people they could help were the people who had shopped at chain drug stores because they had electronic medical records. If we had that for all of our health records, we’d get costs down & we’d have higher quality health care.

Amy Klobuchar on Medicaid: (Immigration Oct 15, 2006)
Opposes Social Security for illegal immigrants

KLOBUCHAR: Yes, I do.

KENNEDY: If you look at the record, she said she would support the Senate immigration bill, that would give benefits to 12 million people that didn’t have benefits. $5 billion cost to Social Security. If you included Medicare and Medicaid, that’d be $50 billion.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Health Care Oct 1, 2006)
The market alone can’t solve our health-care woes

Given the money we spend on health care, we should be able to provide basic coverage to everyone. But we have to contain costs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

The market alone cannot solve the problem--in part because the market has proven incapable of creating large enough insurance pools to keep costs to individuals affordable. Overall, 20% of all patients account for 80% of the care, and if we can prevent disease or manage their effects, we can dramatically improve outcomes and save money.

With the money saved through increased preventive care and lower administrative and malpractice costs, we would provide a subsidy to low-income families and immediately mandate coverage for all uninsured children.

There is no easy fix, but the point is that if we commit to making sure everyone has decent care, there are ways to do it.

Deval Patrick on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 15, 2005)
Supports Health Access and Affordability Act

Deval Patrick on Medicaid: (Health Care Sep 15, 2005)
Finance catastrophic health coverage

Mark Sanford on Medicaid: (Health Care Nov 1, 2002)
Transfer more Medicaid recipients into managed care programs

Indicate which principles you support regarding health issues.
• Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
• Support patients’ right to sue their HMOs.
• Use South Carolina’s portion of the national tobacco settlement only for anti-smoking and health programs.

Barack Obama on Medicaid: (Immigration Jul 2, 1998)
Extend welfare and Medicaid to immigrants

Obama supports the folowing principles regarding immigration:
• Continue to extend state-funded welfare benefits for legal immigrants.
• Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.

Bernie Sanders on Medicaid: (Principles & Values Jun 17, 1997)
GOP convinces middle class to vote for interests of the rich

Their real ideology--not the sham philosophy of "states' rights" or "personal responsibility" created for public consumption--reflects the interests of a tiny and very privileged segment of the population. Republicans are faced with the dilemma: How to convince working people and the middle class to vote AGAINST their own best interests. Or, equally important, how to get them not to vote at all. Further, how to deflect attention AWAY from the issues that affect the vast majority of people and around which they could UNITE.

John Kasich on Medicaid: (Budget & Economy Nov 1, 1996)
Require balanced budget; block grant everything to states

A: Yes.

Q: Do you support the use of block grants given to states, rather than federal spending, in the following areas: Agriculture?

A: Yes.

Q: Education?

A: Yes.

Q: Farm subsidies?

A: Yes.

Q: Food stamps?

A: Yes.

Q: Law enforcement?

A: Yes.

Q: Medicaid?

A: Yes.

Q: Medicare?

A: Yes.

Q: School lunches?

A: Yes.

Q: Welfare?

A: Yes.

Hillary Clinton on Medicaid: (Families & Children May 5, 1994)
Men should be full participants in child-raising

Women and children need men to be full participants in the raising of children, and men need the opportunity and joy of being those participants in their own families.

The primary obligation of both parents is to take whatever gift God gave you in the person of that little boy or girl and pay attention to that child’s needs, to respond to that child, to stimulate that child, to be there for that child, and to learn the kind of personality your child has so that you’re allowing your child to flourish.