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POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

In Case You Missed It…

| By CBPP

This week at CBPP, we focused on health care, the federal budget, state budgets and taxes, and family income support.

  • On health care, Edwin Park, Matt Broaddus, Jesse Cross-Call, and Jessica Schubel outlined how House Republicans’ Medicaid proposals would endanger millions of Americans’ health coverage. Park also explained why a Medicaid per capita cap would significantly cut federal Medicaid funding for the states. Judy Solomon pointed to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant as a cautionary tale about the dangers of restructuring Medicaid. She also warned that large federal Medicaid cuts would make it hard for states to meet the need for home- and community-based services. Peggy Bailey described how repealing the Affordable Care Act would weaken access to substance use treatment.
  • On the federal budget, Bob Greenstein, Joel Friedman, and Isaac Shapiro showed that federal program spending outside Social Security and Medicare is historically low and projected to fall further. Greenstein, Shapiro, and Richard Kogan showed that low-income programs aren’t driving the nation’s long-term fiscal problem. Friedman listed the main takeaways from the two reports. David Reich, Shapiro, Chloe Cho, and Kogan explained that block-granting low-income programs leads to large funding declines over time and detailed their methodology.
  • On state budgets and taxes, Michael Leachman noted that the problems Kansas’ large tax cuts have caused should serve as a wake-up call to states considering similar measures. Iris Lav explained why important federal grants for states and localities are at risk. Elizabeth McNichol urged states to take the lead in making needed investments in infrastructure.
  • On family income support, Liz Schott cited TANF as evidence of why block-granting safety-net programs can reduce their effectiveness.

Chart of the Week: Low-Income Expenditures Outside Health Care Set to Fall Below Average of Last 40 Years

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently. Here are some highlights:


Do Indiana’s Claims About Its Medicaid Program Check Out?
NPR
February 24, 2017


Trump Vowed to Protect the Safety Net. What if His Appointees Disagree?
New York Times
February 23, 2017


Five Questions Republicans Can't Answer About Their Obamacare Replacement
The Fiscal Times
February 22, 2017


Obamacare repeal may birth a new retirement account
CNBC
February 20, 2017


Once Again, the Estate Tax May Die
New York Times
February 18, 2017

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