Opposes Medicaid cuts in Washington, but backs them here
Commonwealth Magazine, July 23, 2017
By Reps. Ruth B. Balser, Jay Livingstone and Christine Barber
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER has publicly criticized Republican efforts in Washington, DC, to roll back health coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act. He rightly argues that such changes will have tremendously negative effects on the health care of hundreds of thousands of people in Massachusetts, our economy, and our budget. We commend him for these words. Unfortunately, his recent actions in Massachusetts are at odds with these statements.
During recent state budget negotiations, Baker sent a last-minute reform plan to the Legislature that included dramatic changes to MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. If the governor’s proposal had been adopted, Massachusetts would have become the first state in the country to roll back Medicaid expansion authorized by the Affordable Care Act.