Biden’s New Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR) 2.0 Is Big Government Hypocrisy at Its Worst. MFAR 2.0 Would Raise Taxes, Hurt Jobs, And Harm Poor Seniors.
Overview
On February 17, 2023, the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) released an Informational Bulletin creating new, burdensome federal standards recycled from the defeated 2019 MFAR proposal. As millions of Americans are already being disenrolled from Medicaid, MFAR 2.0’s standards restrict the right of states to use long-standing practices to fund Medicaid and to use federal resources to support the hospitals that serve the poor and medically needy. On April 5, 2023, Texas filed a complaint alleging the Bulletin is inconsistent with the statute passed by Congress. On June 30th, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction against the rule. However, despite this order, the agency has doubled down, incorporating the requirements into new rules.
Hurting Seniors And Vulnerable Patients
The rule would cut Medicaid by at least $50 billion per year. These cuts would harm vulnerable patients, including seniors and pregnant mothers.
Political Hypocrisy
MFAR 2.0 is another example of glaring political hypocrisy. While President Biden is claiming Republicans are “gutting Medicaid,” his own Administration is proposing to cut Medicaid.
Biden/Harris Flip-Flop
MFAR 2.0 is a clear flip-flop for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. When federal bureaucrats floated similar changes in the original MFAR proposal during the Trump Administration, national Democrats opposed the change. President Biden even campaigned against the proposed rule. 28 Democratic senators, including then-Senator Kamala Harris, wrote a joint letter arguing the proposal “would be devastating to providers across the country and the vulnerable low-income patients who rely on them.” When President Trump fought the bureaucracy and ultimately withdrew the proposed rule, both Republicans and Democrats celebrated the defeat.
Higher Taxes
Despite President Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on American households making less than $400,000, the Biden Administration’s MFAR 2.0 would inevitably result in higher taxes on Americans as states are forced to make up all lost federal revenue resulting from the policy change.
Federal Bureaucrat Power Grab
MFAR 2.0 is blatant federal overreach from the Biden Administration that would remove choice and flexibility from states and local governments while putting control in the hands of federal bureaucrats. New Hampshire Senate President Jeb Bradley has said that CMS’ attack on local healthcare control “would be devastating for New Hampshire.”
Bad For The Economy
This policy change would cost jobs. It hurts hospitals, which are often the largest employers — especially in rural areas.
Politics Over Patients
The Biden Administration is putting politics over patients by continuing to target America’s poorest citizens in rural areas and inner cities with these regulations.
