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TASK FORCE BILL OF THE WEEK: H.R. 4160, the State Health Flexibility Act

Washington, Apr 18 -

 At the recent Supreme Court oral arguments on Obamacare’s mandated Medicaid expansion, some Justices questioned whether the mandated Medicaid expansion provides states any real options in managing their Medicaid programs.  Justice Kennedy stated “There’s no realistic choice. There’s no real choice.” He’s right. Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion (and its entire federal health care scheme) grabs power away from the states and seeks to enlist them as federal bureaucratic agencies—not governing partners in the federalism design created under the Constitution and emphasized through the Tenth Amendment.

H.R. 4160, introduced by Reps. Todd Rokita, Tim Huelskamp, Paul Broun, M.D., and Chairman Jim Jordan, respects federalism by empowering states to design health care programs without requiring states to navigate through Washington’s maze of bureaucratic red tape. The bill streamlines federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding into one block grant to the states, giving them maximum flexibility to better address the unique health care needs of their most vulnerable citizens.  Each state is free to determine eligibility, benefits, and provider reimbursement rates.  Without cutting a penny from current Medicaid and CHIP funding, H.R. 4160 prevents the federal government from borrowing and spending $2.0 trillion we do not have. Lastly, H.R. 4160 repeals Obamacare and its costly mandates to help keep state health care programs affordable and focused on the truly needy.