Warnock Forces Vote on Transparency Surrounding Medicaid Coverage Loss

The Senator's amendment would have required basic data on Medicaid coverage loss to be made public

The amendment was blocked on a party-line vote 52-46 with all "no" votes coming from Senate Republicans

Recent reporting found that about 1.75 million fewer kids were enrolled in Medicaid this January, a year after Congressional GOP cut $1 trillion from Medicaid

Senator Reverend Warnock: "If my colleagues have nothing to hide, they should have no problem with transparency to reveal the scale of coverage loss."

Watch the Senator's remarks HERE

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) put every Senator on the record pushing for the release of data surrounding Medicaid coverage loss nationwide. Recent reporting finds that about 1.75 million fewer kids were enrolled in Medicaid this January, a year after Congressional GOP cut $1 trillionfrom Medicaid. The Senator's effort to release data surrounding Medicaid coverage loss was blocked by Senate Republicans 52-46.

"My friends on the other side of the aisle continue to falsely argue that their last reconciliation bill did not cut Medicaid, but now nearly one year after this monstrosity passed…millions of Americans, including children, are losing health insurance as they ram through another partisan bill that does nothing to make health care more affordable," said Senator Reverend Warnock."Since Republicans refused to reverse these harmful cuts, my amendment simply asks for transparency. That's it… If my colleagues have nothing to hide, they should have no problem with transparency to reveal the scale of coverage loss."

Senator Warnock has long championed efforts to expand affordable health care access. Last spring, the Senator released a report finding that the best way to get the most Americans working is to invest in Medicaid, making health care accessible to eligible Americans. While work reporting requirements pushed by the GOP do nothing to bring people into the workforce and kick working people off their health care, making those working Americans more likely to stop working if they cannot access preventative care or manage chronic illness. Additionally, recent federal guidelines released by the Trump Administration will make it harder for people sick with cancer or with disabilities to keep their health care.

The full remarks can be found HERE and below:

Madam President, my friends on the other side of the aisle continue to falsely argue that their last reconciliation bill did not cut Medicaid, but now nearly one year after this monstrosity passed, I call it the one big ugly bill, millions of Americans, including children, are losing health insurance as they ram through another partisan bill that does nothing to make health care more affordable.

Just a few weeks ago, a report found that 1.75 million fewer kids were enrolled in Medicaid this year compared to last year, and earlier this week, the Trump administration released cruel guidance to states on how to implement the new Medicaid red tape requirements. In a word, they're making it harder for sick and disabled Americans to access health care.

Since Republicans refused to reverse these harmful cuts, my amendment simply asks for transparency. That's it.

The release of basic information on how this new red tape will restrict access to health care. If my colleagues have nothing to hide, they should have no problem with transparency to reveal the scale of coverage loss. We have disagreements on this issue, but at least we ought to have the facts, and so I urge my colleagues to vote yes.

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