Family Voices Indiana

Have questions about the terminology being used in the debate over health care legislation? Click on the bubbles above to learn more. (Illustration by Lynne Shallcross; photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) President Donald Trump and many congressional Republicans campaigned on repealing the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with their own plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system. As the GOP develops its offering, its representatives are tossing around wonky health policy terms to describe their core strategies. Below you’ll find some brief definitions. Click on the word bubbles in the photo above for KHN’s fuller translation of what each phrase means — for U.S. health care and for ongoing efforts to replace the ACA. MEDICAID BLOCK GRANTS AND PER-CAPITA CAPS:  The federal government gives states a set amount of money to pay for coverage for Medicaid recipients. This would be a shift from the current Medicaid program, where the federal government matches state Medic

MARCH 15, 2017  BY JESSICA SCHUBEL House Republicans’ American Health Care Act would radically restructure Medicaid financing and effectively phase out the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion, cutting federal Medicaid spending by $880 billion over the next ten years and enrollment by 14 million low-income people. [1]  It would also make other, little noticed, changes to Medicaid that together would cut Medicaid spending by an  additional  $19 billion over ten years, significantly affecting coverage and financial security for over 70 million low-income Americans — including children, seniors, and people with disabilities — while also increasing uncompensated care for hospitals. [2]  The bill would: Roll back Medicaid coverage for children ages 6 to 18.   The ACA raised Medicaid’s minimum income eligibility limit for these children from 100 to 133 percent of the poverty line, the level already in place for children under 6.  This change enables