HHS/MEDICAID/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Hoping to head off a full expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, some senior officials in the Trump administration and Republican governors have been pushing hard for a smaller expansion to satisfy a growing political demand in their states. But President Trump decided on Friday [7-27-18] to shut down the debate until after the midterm elections, administration officials said. The debate has divided the Trump administration between top officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and hard-liners, mainly at the White House, more determined to snuff out the Affordable Care Act. And it gained steam as states pressed forward with Medicaid expansions that could leave more people with health coverage under the Affordable Care Act next year than when Mr. Trump took office. This year, Virginia expanded Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act. Maine voters approved an expansion that is likely to begin after the current governor, Paul R. LePage, leaves office next year. And ballot measures in Utah, Idaho and Nebraska could expand Medicaid in deep red states.”
–Robert Pear, “Trump Spurns Medicaid Proposal After Furious White House Debate,” The New York Times online, July 30, 2018