The Senate's latest Obamacare repeal bill "poses serious challenges" for states, and deserves "additional deliberation by policymakers," the National Association of Medicaid Directors warned Thursday.
In a statement, the group said the the bill, sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., said the "scope" of the massive block grant component of the bill "cannot be overstated."
"States will need to develop overall strategies, invest in infrastructure development, systems changes, provider and managed care plan contracting, and perform a host of other activities," the statement said.
"The vast majority of states will not be able to do so within the two-year timeframe envisioned here, especially considering the apparent lack of federal funding in the bill to support these critical activities."
Besides converting Obamacare subsidies to block grants for states, the bill would change the federal government's funding of the traditional Medicaid program from an open-ended commitment to the states to a per-capita cap on each enrollee.
"Taken together, the per-capita caps and the envisioned block grant would constitute the largest intergovernmental transfer of financial risk from the federal government to the states in our country's history," the group’s board of directors said in the statement.
The directors also hit Senate Republicans for not having a full Congressional Budget Office score before a possible vote on the bill, "which should be the bare minimum required for beginning consideration."
"With only a few legislative days left for the entire process to conclude, there clearly is not sufficient time for policymakers, governors, Medicaid directors, or other critical stakeholders to engage in the thoughtful deliberation necessary to ensure successful long-term reforms," the statement warned.
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