GOP Reveals New Plan to Repeal and Replace

House Republicans have put together an outline of a plan to pull back Medicaid expansion and convert Medicaid into a per-person pay system. The brief, which closely resembles the "A Better Way" plan by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), does not go into detail about how lawmakers will determine the baseline for setting per-capita allotments, nor does it specify how long states that expanded Medicaid would continue to receive the enhanced federal match for that population. Leaders briefed House Republicans late last week (click here.) The key Medicaid points:

• Beginning in a future year, Medicaid programs would move to a per-capita allotment system, although states could opt for a block grant;

• Congress would set the federal Medicaid payment to states by multiplying the state’s per-capita costs for major beneficiary groups -- including the aged, blind and disabled; children; and adults -- by the number of enrollees in each group;

• The states’ per-capita costs for the groups would be based on each state’s average Medicaid spending in a base year; and

• Payments would grow based on an inflationary index.

Click here to view the new 19-page plan.

• One analysis says the plan would redirect funs from the poor to the rich. Click here.

• A return to high-risk pools are part of the plan. Click here for a good summary of how they work.

• The IRS will no longer enforce the penalty provisions of the individual mandate. Click here.