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The New York Times tells us that "G.O.P. Rift Over Medicaid and Opioids Imperils Senate Health Bill" based on rumors and quotes from Republican senators, but misses a key part of the story—they're having to base their reporting on rumors because there isn't a public bill. Because there were no public meetings about it, because there were no public hearings about it. As far as we know, the Senate is planning much steeper cuts than the already horrible cuts the House voted to impose. And some Republicans say that's a problem.
Republican senators from states that have been hit hard by the opioid drug crisis have tried to cushion the Medicaid blow with a separate funding stream of $45 billion over 10 years for substance abuse treatment and prevention costs, now covered by the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
But that, too, is running into opposition from conservatives. They have been tussling over the issue with moderate Republican senators like Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Susan Collins of Maine.
Without some opioid funding, Mr. Portman cannot vote for the bill, he said, adding, “Any replacement is going to have to do something to address this opioid crisis that is gripping our country.”
That $45 billion will by no means offset the cuts that Republicans intend for Medicaid over the next decade, but it probably is enough to buy off the Republican "moderates," who can point to the inadequate funding as proof that they're not totally useless. Never mind that they are apparently willing to kick at least 13 million people off the program—they can say they did something about the opioid epidemic.
Maybe if there were hearings, if there was a chance for experts to weigh in, we'd find out how much this bill will fail when it comes to the opioid epidemic. Maybe if Mitch McConnell was held accountable for not letting any of that happen, he'd have fewer spineless Republicans who refuse to put a halt to this.