Highlights:
Sanders Pushed A Plan To Remove People From Medicaid Faster Than The Timeline Recommended By The Biden Administration. According to Politico, “President Joe Biden is giving states a year to check whether millions of low-income Americans are still eligible to receive health insurance through their government’s Medicaid program. Arkansas is planning to do it in half that time. GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former President Donald Trump’s press secretary, is pushing to remove people from ‘government dependency,’ and this month her Medicaid agency started sending letters to tens of thousands of Medicaid recipients asking for proof of income and a host of other details to show they are still eligible for the insurance program.” [Politico, 2/27/23]
Arkansas Was The First State To Complete Its Post-Pandemic Eligibility Review Of Medicaid Recipients. According to the Associated Press, “More than 427,000 Arkansas residents were dropped from Medicaid in the past six months, as the state became among the first nationally to complete a post-pandemic eligibility review of the government-funded health care program for lower-income residents.” [Associated Press, 10/10/23]
2023: More Than 427,000 Arkansans Lost Their Medicaid Coverage. According to the Associated Press, “More than 427,000 Arkansas residents were dropped from Medicaid in the past six months, as the state became among the first nationally to complete a post-pandemic eligibility review of the government-funded health care program for lower-income residents. The state ended coverage for more than half of those whose cases were reviewed during the period — a removal rate that raised concerns Tuesday among some health care advocates even as the Republican-led administration defended its efficiency in shrinking the Medicaid rolls. ‘Arkansas has distinguished itself by moving very rapidly to kick families off coverage, regardless of whether they are still eligible,’ said Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.” [Associated Press, 10/10/23]
2023: More Than 151,000 Children In Arkansas Were Removed From Medicaid. According to the Associated Press, “Arkansas officials have said they didn’t experience those automation problems, But figures provided by the state show more than 151,000 children were removed from Medicaid during the past six months. Arkansas’ percentage decline in children covered by Medicaid ranks among the largest in the nation, Alker said.” [Associated Press, 10/10/23]
Arkansan Children Enrolled In Medicaid And The Children’s Health Insurance Program Declined 18% During Sanders’ First Nine Months In Office. According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has notified Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders about the decline in children enrolled in two federal health insurance programs, urging the state to take steps to ‘ensure that no child in your state who still meets eligibility criteria’ loses their coverage.[…] According to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the number of Arkansans enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP declined by 78,506 people between March and September, an 18% decrease over this period. Arkansas had the fifth-largest drop in absolute change and percent change among states.” [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 12/18/23]
More Than One-Third Of Arkansans Were On Medicaid Prior To The Removal Process. According to Politico, “The high-speed effort in Arkansas, where more than a third of the state’s 3 million people are on Medicaid, offers an early glimpse at the potential disruption in store for the country as states comb through their Medicaid rolls for the first time in three years. These verifications, once routine, were suspended during the pandemic, and their resumption nationwide could lead to as many as 15 million people, including 5.3 million children, losing their health insurance.” [Politico, 2/27/23]
October 2023: Medicaid Enrollment In Arkansas Was Lower In Than It Was Before The Pandemic. According to the Associated Press, “Overall, the state’s Medicaid enrollment is slightly lower than it was before the pandemic began, with more than 868,000 on the program as of Oct. 1. Enrollment on Jan. 1, 2020 was about 898,000, according to the state.” [Associated Press, 10/10/23]
Sanders Called A Letter From The HHS Secretary Concerned About The Decline In Arkansas Children Enrolled In Medicaid And CHIP “A Politically Motivated PR Stunt.” According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has notified Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders about the decline in children enrolled in two federal health insurance programs, urging the state to take steps to ‘ensure that no child in your state who still meets eligibility criteria’ loses their coverage. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra's letter Monday coincided with the release of new data showing child enrollment in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program declined by 2.2 million children from March through September. […] In a post on X, the social media platform previously called Twitter, Sanders on Monday described Becerra's letter as ‘a politically motivated PR stunt.’ ‘During the unwinding process mandated by federal law, the Biden admin sent letters to certain states to pause their unwinding, but Arkansas was never one of them,’ the Republican governor said. ‘Arkansas is in compliance with state and federal law, while Biden plays politics at Christmas.’” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 12/18/23]
Sanders Requested The Federal Government Allow Arkansas To Institute A Work Requirement For Expanded Medicaid Eligibility. According to the Associated Press, “Arkansas will ask the federal government to allow the state to require people on its expanded Medicaid program to work, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday, trying to reinstate a requirement that was blocked by the courts and opposed by President Joe Biden’s administration. Unlike the previous requirement, Sanders said, the latest proposal won’t cut off coverage to people who don’t comply. Instead, it will move them from the private insurance used for Arkansas’ expansion to the traditional fee-for-service Medicaid program.” [Associated Press, 2/15/23]
Sanders Declined To Say If She Would Support Keeping Arkansas’ Medicaid Expansion Program In Place If The Work Requirement Was Rejected. According to the Associated Press, “Sanders declined to say whether she’d support keeping the state’s expansion program if the work requirement plan is rejected.” [Associated Press, 2/15/23]
A Previous Work Requirement In Arkansas, That Was Approved By The Trump Administration, Was Rejected In Federal Court Because It Did Not Promote Medicaid’s Objective Of Providing Health Coverage To The Poor. According to the New York Times, “A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a lower court’s ruling striking down work rules for Medicaid recipients in Arkansas, casting more doubt over broader Trump administration efforts to require poor people to work, volunteer or train for a job as a condition of getting government health coverage. A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that approval of the Arkansas work requirement by the health and human services secretary, Alex M. Azar, was ‘arbitrary and capricious’ because it did not address how the program would promote the objective of Medicaid as defined under federal law: providing health coverage to the poor.” [New York Times, 2/14/20]
Sanders Served As Donald Trump’s Press Secretary. According to USA Today, “Sarah Huckabee Sanders will take over as President Trump's chief spokesperson, the White House announced Friday.” [USA Today, 7/21/17]
Trump’s FY 2019 Budget Sought To Cut Medicare By $236 Billion Over 10 Years. According to Reuters, “President Donald Trump proposed a budget on Monday that calls for cuts in domestic spending and social programs such as Medicare and seeks a sharp increase in military spending and funding for a wall on the Mexican border. While running for president in 2016, Trump pledged to leave popular benefit programs such as Medicare and Social Security untouched, but his new budget proposal would reduce Medicare spending by $236 billion over the next 10 years. The White House argued, however, that the reduced spending would come through reforms to the government health insurance program for the elderly, not benefit cuts.” [Reuters, 2/12/18]
2019: Trump Proposed A FY 2020 Budget That Cut Medicare By $845 Billion Over 10 Years. According to the Washington Post, “The Trump budget also promises to slow spending on Medicare, the federal program that gives health insurance to older Americans, by $845 billion over the next 10 years, in party by limiting fraud and abuse and payments to hospitals. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump said he would not cut Medicare or Social Security, the retirement program for the elderly, but his budget last year also included a proposed cut of more than $550 billion to the program.” [Washington Post, 3/11/19]
Trump’s FY 2021 Budget Cut $500 Billion From Medicare Over 10 Years. According to the Center on Budget Policy Priorities, “President Trump’s 2021 budget proposes about $500 billion in net Medicare spending reductions over ten years (see table), most of which would come from reducing payments to health care providers and not affect beneficiaries directly.” [Center on Budget Policy Priorities, 2/13/20]
VIDEO: January 2020: Asked If Trump Would Be Willing To Do Some Of The Things He Wasn’t Willing To Do In The Past “In Terms Of Medicare,” Trump Said, “Well, We’re Going-- We’re Going Look.” According to CNBC via YouTube, “KERNEN: One last question. TRUMP: Go ahead. KERNEN: Entitlements ever be on your plate? TRUMP: At some point they will be. We have tremendous growth. We’re going to have tremendous growth. This next year I-- it’ll be toward the end of the year. The growth is going to be incredible. And at the right time, we will take a look at that. You know, that’s actually the easiest of all things, if you look, cause it’s such a— […] KERNEN: If you’re willing-- TRUMP: --big percentage. KERNEN: --to do some of the things that you said you wouldn’t do in the past, though, in terms of Medicare-- TRUMP: Well, we’re going-- we’re going look. We also have-- assets that we’ve never had. I mean we’ve never had growth like this.” [CNBC via YouTube, 1/22/20]
VIDEO: January 2020: Asked If “Entitlements Ever Be On Your Plate?” Trump Said, “At Some Point They Will Be.” According to CNBC via YouTube, “KERNEN: Entitlements ever be on your plate? TRUMP: At some point they will be. We have tremendous growth. We’re going to have tremendous growth. This next year I-- it’ll be toward the end of the year. The growth is going to be incredible. And at the right time, we will take a look at that. You know, that’s actually the easiest of all things, if you look.” [CNBC via YouTube, 1/22/20]
VIDEO: March 2020: At A Scranton Town Hall, Trump Said He Intended To Cut Entitlement Programs; “Oh, We’ll Be Cutting.” According to Fox News via YouTube, “MACCALLUM: If you, if you don’t cut something in entitlements, you will never really deal with the debt. TRUMP: Oh, we’ll be cutting, but we’re also going to have growth like you’ve never seen before.” [Fox News via YouTube, 3/5/20]
Sanders Was A Campaign Advisor For Tom Cotton. According to The Hill, “Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has added Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), as a campaign advisor, his campaign announced Thursday. Sanders is a major strategist in her own right — she played a major role in her father’s 2008 Iowa caucus win and was the campaign manager on Sen. John Boozman’s (R-Ark.) big 2010 win. She’s expected to focus on fundraising and coalition-building in the campaign’s closing days.” [The Hill, 9/18/14]
Cotton Supported The 2013 Republican House Budget Plan And The Republican Study Committee Budget Plan. According to USA Today, “Cotton did support the plan referenced in the ads. He voted for the Republican House budget resolution in 2013, which included an overhaul of Medicare, and he voted for a Republican Study Committee budget plan that would have fast-tracked the Medicare changes, implementing them five years earlier than the House budget plan put forth by Ryan.” [USA Today, 2/25/14]
The House Budget Plan Would Have Raised The Eligibility Age For Medicare To 67, And The Republican Study Committee Plan Raised The Eligibility Age To 70. According to USA Today, “Ryan's plan wouldn't have included those 55 and older — they stay in the traditional Medicare system. The Republican Study Committee plan moved the starting point up by five years, meaning those 60 and older wouldn't have been affected, but those 59 and younger would enter the new Medicare exchange. Ryan's plan slowly increases the age for new beneficiaries to 67; the RSC plan increases the minimum age to 70.” [USA Today, 2/25/14]
Sanders Was A Senior Advisor To Tim Pawlenty’s 2012 Presidential Campaign. According to Politico, “Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and the former political director of his presidential bid, has signed on with Tim Pawlenty’s 2012 campaign. She’ll hold the position of senior political adviser and start work today in Pawlenty’s Iowa headquarters. Sanders will be ‘taking the lead for the campaign on the Iowa Straw Poll effort,’ according to the Pawlenty camp. Pawlenty already has the most developed Iowa operation among the 2012 candidates and Sanders, who’s no stranger to the state, adds to that muscle.” [Politico, 7/5/11]
Pawlenty Said “We Have To” Raise The Retirement Age For Social Security. According to Reuters, “Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty urged big changes to the Social Security retirement program Wednesday, but said paring U.S. defense spending is not vital to tame the bloated federal budget. […] On Social Security, Pawlenty said: ‘We're going to have to look people in the eye and say, 'Do you know what? It is time. If you are new to the workforce, for you, we're going to gradually raise the retirement age over time, we have to.’’” [Reuters, 5/25/11]
John Boozman Hired Sanders To Be His Campaign Manager For A 2010 Senate Bid. According to Roll Call, “Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) announced Tuesday that he had tapped Sarah Huckabee, daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), to manage his Senate campaign.” [Roll Call, 2/16/10]
Boozman Supported A Proposal To Partially Privatize Social Security. According to PolitiFact, “When Boozman ran for Congress in 2001, he said that he supported President Bush's proposal to allow individuals under 55 to divert a portion of their payroll taxes into a personal investment account. ‘The future of Social Security is dependent on creating a vehicle for private investment,’ Boozman said. And again in 2004, ‘Boozman said he likes the idea of transferring a small percentage of the federal (Social Security) trust fund to 'very safe' investments,’ reported the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.” [PolitiFact, 9/2/10]
Sanders Volunteered For George W. Bush’s 2004 Campaign And Worked For The Department Of Education During Bush’s Second Term. According to the New Yorker, “Compared with Trump’s advisers, Hicks told me, Sanders ‘had real political experience.’ She’d volunteered for George W. Bush’s reëlection campaign, in 2004, and worked for two years in Washington, as a legislative-affairs staffer in the Department of Education.” [New Yorker, 9/24/18]
2005: Bush Proposed Partial Privatization Of Social Security. According to NBC News, “The president has been talking for months about his proposal to partially privatize Social Security, but the high-profile speech Wednesday made clear that the White House plans to ramp up the campaign in an effort to pass major legislation this year. Bush devoted nearly 25 percent of his widely watched speech to spelling out his argument for changing Social Security through a system of personal accounts. ‘If steps are not taken to avert that outcome, the only solutions would be drastically higher taxes, massive new borrowing, or sudden and severe cuts in Social Security benefits or other government programs,’ Bush said.” [NBC News, 2/2/05]
Bush Proposed Cutting Social Security Benefits For Future Retirees. According to the New York Times, “President Bush called Thursday night for cutting Social Security benefits for future retirees to put the system on sound financial footing, and he proposed doing so in a way that would demand the most sacrifice from higher-income people while insulating low-income workers. Saying the retirement program is headed for ‘bankruptcy,’ a term his opponents say is an exaggeration, Mr. Bush edged tentatively -- but for the first time explicitly -- into the most politically explosive aspect of the debate over how to assure Social Security's long-term health: the benefit cuts or tax increases needed to balance the system's books as the baby boom generation ages and life expectancy increases. ‘Social Security's provided a safety net that has provided dignity and peace of mind for millions of Americans in their retirement,’ Mr. Bush said at the beginning of a news conference at the White House. ‘Yet there's a hole in the safety net because Congresses have made promises it cannot keep for a younger generation.’” [New York Times, 4/29/05]
2006: Bush’s Proposed Budget Would Have Cut Medicare By $36 Billion. According to the New York Times, “President George W. Bush submitted a $2.77 trillion budget plan to Congress on Monday that calls for cutting the growth of Medicare and putting tight limits on most spending not related to national security. […] The plan calls for eliminating or making deep cuts in 141 programs for savings of almost $15 billion, but would provide more money for preparations for a possible outbreak of bird flu and the promotion of the physical sciences. The biggest proposed savings were in so-called entitlements, whose projected totals would come down by $65 billion over the next five years. In what may become the budget's most contentious proposal, the growth of Medicare spending would be cut by $36 billion over that time.” [New York Times, 2/6/06]
2008: Bush’s Proposed Budget Would Have Cut Medicare By $97 Billion. According to the New York Times, “Budget documents show that Mr. Bush will propose legislative changes in Medicare to save $6 billion in the next year and $91 billion from 2009 to 2013. In his last budget, by contrast, his legislative proposals would have saved $4 billion in the first year and $65.6 billion over five years.” [New York Times, 1/31/08]
2008: Bush’s Proposed Budget Would Have Cut Medicaid By $15.2 Billion. According to the New York Times, “The president’s budget also takes aim at Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income people. He would pare $1.2 billion from it next year and nearly $14 billion over five years.” [New York Times, 1/31/08]
Sanders Said Arkansas Would Not Expand Postpartum Medicaid Coverage To 12 Months Despite The High Rate Of Maternal Mortality. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “To reduce Arkansas' high rate of maternal mortality, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that the state does not need to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months but instead do a better job of transitioning mothers to other coverage after their eligibility in the pregnancy Medicaid category ends. ‘We want to see that coverage continued, whether that's through the private marketplace or other Medicaid options,’ Sanders said. ‘Those are already available. We just need to do a better job of moving those moms onto those other coverage opportunities.’ Sanders addressed the issue while speaking with reporters after a panel discussion on maternal health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2/21/24]
Forty-Three States And The District Of Columbia Extended Postpartum Medicaid Coverage From 60 Days To 12 Months After The American Rescue Plan Gave States That Option. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage for women who qualify, based on their incomes, for at least 60 days after a woman gives birth. The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act gave states an option to extend the coverage to up to 12 months. According to KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, 43 states and the District of Columbia had extended the coverage to 12 months as of Jan. 17, and three others were planning to do so.” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2/21/24]
When Asked Why Arkansas Did Not Extend Paid Maternity Leave To 12 Months Despite Having One Of The Highest Rates Of Maternal Mortality In The Country, Sanders She Would “Disagree With The Premise Of Your Question.” According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “Brennan then addressed maternal mortality rates, saying the Center for Disease Control reported Arkansas had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country until 2021. According to a December 2022 legislative report from the Arkansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee, from 2018 to 2019 Arkansas had 54 pregnancy-associated deaths, with a pregnancy-associated mortality ratio of 73.7 deaths per 100,000 births. For all pregnancy-associated deaths, Black mothers were approximately twice as likely to die compared to white mothers in Arkansas. In April 2023, Huckabee signed into law a bill extending paid maternity leave for state employees from four to 12 weeks. ‘Arkansas is one of the few states that hasn’t extended postpartum care for mothers,’ Brennan said. ‘Why don’t you want those moms to get care for a full 12 months as is being offered instead of just 60 days?’ Sanders said she had to ‘disagree with the premise of your question saying that I don’t want that. ‘I certainly want us to do everything that we can to help during pregnancy and well after a child is born, which is why we have done things like focus on the foster and adoption care. We’ve put significant funding into our pregnancy crisis centers. We’re focusing on things that help our mothers including bring your kids to work at state government, we’ve expanded maternity leave for state employees.’” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 1/21/24]