How Rick Perry Wants to Use Block Grants to Have His Cake and Eat It Too

If you've been reading Burnt Orange Report, you know how Governor Rick Perry's refusal to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is hurting Texans.

Perry has already made it clear that he will not expand Medicaid at all. But that doesn't mean he wants to leave the program the way it is.

Earlier this year, Perry petitioned the Obama administration for a Medicaid block grant, a type of grant that would give him federal money with few strings attached that regulated how he spent it. He'd asked for the same in 2011 and 2008, getting denied every time. That hasn't stopped Perry from continuing to push for Medicaid block grants.

Medicaid block grants are a policy proposal we've seen from Republicans time and time again. The GOP claims block grants will save Medicaid, but they are really an insidious Republican tactic to shrink Medicaid and insure fewer poor people overall. These claims are often cloaked in policy jargon, which makes it tough to understand how this plan works.

More at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14460/how-rick-perry-wants-to-use-block-grants-to-have-his-cake-and-eat-it-too .