U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan said Friday he plans to fight proposed federal Medicaid rules that advocates say may jeopardize treatment for cancer, HIV and other serious illnesses.
Bresnahan signaled his opposition during a news conference to announce $192 million in long overdue federal COVID-19 relief money that he successfully fought to obtain for Geisinger and other hospitals. The news conference took place at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp.
Bresnahan faulted the rules for “shortsightedness.”
“It’s certainly something that we take offense to,” he said. “Cancer is something that hits very close to our home, including my wife's sister, who is currently battling stage four metastatic breast cancer ... And we plan on fully fighting this every step of the way.”
The Department of Health and Human Services issued almost 400 pages of proposed rules Monday to flesh out guidance for work, public service and other requirements for recipients to obtain or keep Medicaid coverage.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act fallout
Last summer, after Congress passed and President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, federal law began requiring at least 20 hours a week of work or community service for people to keep Medicaid benefits starting Jan. 1, 2027. The bill also requires recipients to more frequently re-apply to ensure they remain eligible for benefits.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the law will reduce federal Medicaid spending by $911 billion in the next 10 years with work requirements accounting for about $326 billion. The number of uninsured people will rise by 10 million with 5.3 million of that because of the work requirements, according to the CBO.
Bresnahan, who voted for the act, has defended the law as a way of preserving Medicaid “while rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.”
“By ensuring states are not using Medicaid dollars on illegal aliens, conducting more frequent eligibility checks, and requiring work for able-bodied recipients, we are securing Medicaid for those who truly need it,” he said.
He also pointed out multiple exceptions to work requirements for people younger than 18 or senior citizens; pregnant women; parents, guardians, or caretakers of a dependent or disabled person; full-time students; disabled veterans; and people with medical needs, including physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, mental health and substance abuse disorders, blindness and serious or complex medical conditions; and people who receive food stamps or are in rehabilitation programs.
Democrats have sharply criticized the bill because of the expected cuts.
Patient groups 'deeply concerned'
On Tuesday, 48 patient groups, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, said they are “deeply concerned” about the new rules.
They said the rules do not “protect people with serious or complex health conditions and would instead dramatically and inappropriately increase the number of people who will lose their healthcare coverage.”
Adrianna McIntyre, assistant professor of health policy at Harvard University, told National Public Radio the rules go beyond the exemptions by requiring work if a disease does not interfere with the ability to work.
“So people with early-stage cancer who are in radiation treatment but still have the capacity to work or people who have HIV but can still technically work, are not exempted from the work requirement,” McIntyre said.
Dr. Terry Gilliland, Geisinger’s president and CEO, said he wasn’t familiar enough with the rules to comment on them.
Thanks for the COVID cash
However, Gilliland thanked Bresnahan and the rest of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation for fighting for the COVID-19 money.
“COVID took an incredible lasting toll on our communities, our people, and our health systems,” he said. “These FEMA reimbursement dollars, will help us as we continue to invest in bringing the highest levels of care to the communities we serve across northeastern and central Pennsylvania.”
Bresnahan, who advocated for the money in a March letter signed by other Republican House members from Pennsylvania, blamed changes in Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security administrators and delays by multiple federal administrations.
“Obviously, I think it took some sharp elbows from the Pennsylvania congressional delegation to bring that into a reality,” Bresnahan said. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, our hospitals and frontline workers stepped up in an extraordinary way, expanding capacity virtually overnight, protecting patients, saving lives under immense pressure. But one thing was constant: they showed up each and every day to do the job.”
Estimates of how much money is due other Pennsylvania hospitals was not immediately available. In all, hospital across the state are expected to receive almost $600 million.
