The Trump administration prepares for the best instead of the worst. During a period of economic growth, instead of preparing for an inevitable downturn, the administration pushed through large tax cuts that benefited corporations and the wealthiest individuals, driving up federal deficits. And after the Ebola outbreak subsided, rather than preparing for a new global health challenge, the White House disbanded the National Security Council’s office of global health security.
And most recently, the administration announced that states could apply for a waiver to convert Medicaid from an open-ended entitlement program to a block grant program, with a set amount of federal funding annually. Under the waiver, the federal government will cap the amount of funding it allocates to states for able-bodied adults, including in some cases pregnant women and families.
COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has spread to a global pandemic, demonstrates why block grants are irresponsible and hurt the most vulnerable.
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