HHS Secretary Alex Azar revealed Thursday that his department is in talks with states about instituting block grants in Medicaid without congressional approval. “There may be states that have asked about block granting, per capita, restructurings around especially expansion populations ... It's at their instigation.”

The CMS rolled out new tools on Thursday to help states get approval to make changes to Medicaid such as implementing work requirements. Administrator Seema Verma defended the administration's push to get more states to pursue 1115 demonstration waivers even as the agency faces criticism over coverage losses due to work rules.

In response to a request from Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, health policy experts at the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution worked together to compile a list of policy options to slow the rate of increase of health care costs and attract bipartisan support.

Critics cried sabotage when political leaders took action to repair some of the damage done by the ACA. But a new study by the president’s Council of Economic Advisers finds that eliminating federal tax penalties on the uninsured and giving consumers more coverage options will provide economic benefits totaling $450 billion over the next decade.

The American people don't want such a major upheaval. The right solution is to give people more choices of more affordable health coverage and have states, rather than the federal government, target resources to those who need help.