Biden Bits: Confident It’s Legal…

Biden Tweets Logo. Image by Lenny Ghoul.

President Biden’s public schedule for Tuesday 02/28/2023:

9:00 AM The President receives the President’s Daily Brief
The White House Closed Press
11:45 AM Out-of-Town Pool Call Time
Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool
12:00 PM In-Town Pool Call Time
The White House In-Town Pool
12:40 PM The President departs the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews
South Lawn Open Press
1:00 PM The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route to Virginia Beach, Virginia
Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool
1:15 PM Press BriefingPrincipal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton will gaggle aboard Air Force One en route Virginia Beach, Virginia
Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool
1:45 PM The President arrives in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA Open Press
3:00 PM RemarksThe President discusses his plan to protect Americans’ access to affordable health care, and highlights how Congressional Republicans would raise health care costs – including for seniors, and cause millions of people to lose their coverage
Virginia Beach, VA Open Press
4:25 PM The President departs Virginia Beach, Virginia en route to Joint Base Andrews
Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA Out-of-Town Pool
5:15 PM The President arrives at Joint Base Andrews
Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool
5:35 PM The President arrives at the White House
South Lawn Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton will gaggle aboard Air Force One en route Virginia Beach, Virginia

Audio Only Press Gaggle @1:15 p.m. D.C., time.


President Biden has tweeted…

@POTUS has posted 4 tweets so far for Tuesday…

Tuesday’s 1st tweet…

Today is the day that President Biden’s Administration heads to the Supreme Court to argue in favor of his Student Loan Forgiveness program.

Washington Post live feed…


When the post was posted for Monday, President Biden had 2 tweets. He added 9 tweets giving him a Monday Tweeting Total of 11 tweets and 0 retweets.

I’m gonna switch it up a tiny bit on the first 4 tweets of the 9 he added. They play a role in his remarks later this afternoon.

Tuesday’s 2nd and 3rd Tweets…

This morning the White House posted the following Fact-Sheer; The Congressional Republican Agenda: Repealing the Affordable Care Act and Slashing Medicaid

Speaker McCarthy and congressional Republicans have committed to balance the budget1 while adding $3 trillion or more 2 to the deficit through tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and large corporations. As a matter of simple math, that requires trillions in program cuts 3. Congressional Republicans have yet to disclose to the American people where these cuts will come from. But past Republican legislation 4budgets 5, and litigation 6, along with recent statements 7proposals 8, and budgetplans 9, provide clear evidence that health care will be on the chopping block for severe cuts.

Virtually every Republican budget or fiscal plan over the last decade has included repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and deep cuts to Medicaid. That would mean: higher health care costs for tens of millions of Americans; ending critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions; millions of people losing health coverage and care; and threats to health care for seniors and people with disabilities, including growing home care waiting lists and worse nursing home care.

The American people deserve to see congressional Republicans’ full and detailed budget plan, including what it cuts from the ACA and Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare, and other critical programs, and should have the chance to compare it with the President’s budget plan, which he will release March 9.

White House.gov. 02/28/2023.

If Republicans are successful in repealing the Affordable Care Act and making deep cuts to Medicaid:

Millions of Americans Will Have Higher Health Care Costs

  • More than 100 million people with pre-existing health conditions could lose critical protections. Before the ACA, more than 100 million Americans 10 with pre-existing health conditions could have been denied coverage or charged more if they tried to buy individual market health insurance. Republican repeal proposals either eliminate these protections outright or find other ways11 to gut them.
  • Up to 24 million people could lose protection against catastrophic medical bills. Before the ACA, insurance plans were not required to limit enrollees’ total costs, and almost one in five 12 people with employer coverage had no limit on out-of-pocket costs, meaning they were exposed to tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills if they became seriously ill.
  • Tens of millions of people could be at risk of lifetime benefit caps. Prior to the ACA, 105 million Americans 13, mostly people with employer coverage, had a lifetime limit on their health insurance benefits, and every year up to 20,000 people 14 hit that cap and saw their benefits exhausted just when they needed them most.
  • Millions of people could lose free preventive care. The ACA requires private health insurers to cover preventive services 15, like cancer screenings, cholesterol tests, annual check-ups, and contraceptive services, at no cost. Before these requirements were in place, millions of Americans with health insurance faced cost sharing – sometimes high costs – for these services, which is part of why the ACA resulted in increased use 16 of critical preventive care.
  • Over $1,000 average increase in medical debt for millions covered through Medicaid expansion. Repealing the ACA, in particular the expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults, would reverse major gains in financial security. Within the first two years of the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid, medical debt sent to collection agencies dropped by $3.4 billion 17, and there were 50,000 fewer medical bankruptcies. Among people gaining coverage through expansion, medical debt fell by an average of over $1,000 18. Expansion states also saw significant drops 19 in evictions compared to non-expansion states.
  • Tens of millions of people could see their prescription drug coverage scaled back. Prescription drug coverage is an optional benefit under Medicaid. If states faced large cuts to their federal Medicaid funding, millions of Medicaid enrollees could see their coverage scaled back or have a harder time getting their prescriptions because of extra red tape.

Millions of Americans Will Lose Their Health Insurance

  • 40 million people’s health insurance coverage would be at risk. Over 16 million20 people have signed up for ACA marketplace coverage for 2023, over 22 million21 people are enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage available due to the ACA, and another 1 million 22 people have coverage through the ACA’s Basic Health Program. The total number of people with some form of ACA coverage has risen significantly since 2017, when the Congressional Budget Office estimated23 the House-passed repeal bill would grow the ranks of the uninsured by 23 million.
  • An additional 24 69 million people with Medicaid could lose critical services, or could even lose coverage altogether. Slashing federal funding for Medicaid would force states to make Medicaid eligibility changes that would make it harder to qualify for and enroll in Medicaid coverage. States would also likely consider capping or limiting enrollment, cut critical services, and cut payments rates, making it harder for people with Medicaid to access care.
  • Thousands more preventable deaths each year. The ACA Medicaid expansion is preventing thousands of premature deaths among older adults each year, research finds 25, likely because it improves access to care 26, including medications to control chronic conditions and preventive care such as cancer screenings. ACA marketplace coverage also prevents premature deaths 27.

Worse Care for Seniors and People With Disabilities

  • Over 7 million 28 seniors and people with disabilities could receive worse home care, with ballooning wait lists for those still in need. The number of people on home care wait lists has dropped by 20 percent since 2018. This progress would likely be reversed under a block grant or per-capita cap because there would be fewer dollars available for home care services, an optional benefit in Medicaid. Faced with large federal funding cuts, states would almost certainly ration care. That would likely mean wait lists for home care in the 13 states 29 and DC that don’t currently have them, and skyrocketing wait lists in 37 states that do.
  • Hundreds of thousands of nursing home residents would be at risk of lower quality of care. Over 60 percent 30 of nursing home residents are covered by Medicaid. With large cuts in federal funding, states would be forced to cut nursing home rates to manage their costs, as many 31 states have done during recessions. Research 32 shows that when nursing homes are paid less, residents get worse care.

Millions of People Will Lose Access to Opioid Treatment and Mental Health Care

  • Millions33 of people could lose access to substance use treatment or mental health care. Across the country, the ACA, especially its expansion of Medicaid, has dramatically expanded access to opioid treatment and other substance use disorder care, including increases 34 in medication assisted treatment prescriptions for opioid and other substance use treatment and improved access 35 to mental health care.
  • 34 million 36 children at risk of losing guaranteed access to mental health care. Past Republican plans proposed ending Medicaid’s guarantee of comprehensive health coverage for children. This would jeopardize children’s access to mental health care at a critical point in efforts to address the burgeoning youth mental health crisis. It would also cause children to go without other services, like annual check-ups and speech and physical therapy. And Republican proposals could endanger schools’ ability to bill Medicaid for mental health care, speech therapy, or physical therapy for students.

Rural Hospitals Would Be Forced to Close

  • More of the over 500 rural hospitals at risk of closure could close. The ACA, especially its expansion of Medicaid, helped cut hospital uncompensated care by about $12 billion 37, helping hospitals, especially rural hospitals, stay afloat. Between 2010 and 2021, nearly three-fourths of rural hospital closures were in states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion, with research finding that expansion disproportionately improved rural hospital margins 38 and helped avert 39 rural hospital closures. If the ACA is repealed, and millions lose coverage, closures among at-risk hospitals40 could increase significantly.

Separate from all these quantifiable harms, Republican ACA and Medicaid plans propose abrupt, unprecedented upheaval, with consequences for the entire health care system. In 2017, patient groups41physicians 42hospitals 43insurers 44insurance regulators 45health care experts46, and governors from both parties 47 all expressed alarm that ACA repeals could have far-reaching consequences for the stability of health insurance markets and availability of affordable coverage and care.

White House.gov. 02/28/2023.
  1. Committed to balance the budget =’s Bloomberg paywalled article Republican Balance-Budget Aim Clashes with Fiscal Realities (02/15/2023).
  2. $3 trillion or more =’s White Fact-Sheet; The Congressional Republican Agenda to Increase the Debt by Over $3 Trillion (02/15/2023).
  3. Trillions in program cuts =’s Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB.org) blog post What Would It Take to Balance the Budget? (01/12/2023).
  4. Legislation =’s 34-page PDF posted by SGP.FAS.org Comparison of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) (07/23/2017).
  5. Budgets =’s Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP.org) article House GOP Budget Retains Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, Proposes Deep Program Cuts for Millions of Americans (06/28/2018).
  6.  Litigation =’s Health Affairs.org. article Supreme Court Rejects ACA Challenge; Law Remains Fully Intact (06/17/2021).
  7. Statements =’s AXIOS article Debt ceiling fight looms over Medicare, Medicaid (01/13/2023).
  8. Proposals =’s Rescue America.com Republican Florida Senator Rick Scott 12 Point Plan (the YouTube linked in the plan was posted on 02/22/2022).
  9. Budgetplans =’s Banks.House.gov Blue Print to Save America (nearest date I can find 06/09/2022).
  10. More than 100 million Americans =’s 16 page PDF posted by ASPE.HHS.gov Health Insurance Coverage for American with Pre-Existing Conditions: The Impact of the Affordable Care Act (01/05/2017).
  11. Other ways =’s Washington Post article Cassidy-Graham plan undercuts GOP’s promise to protect health coverage for preexisting conditions (09/22/2017).
  12. Almost one in five =’s Brookings.edu blog post Health Insurance as assurance: The importance of keeping the ACA’s linits on enrollee health costs (01/17/2017).
  13. 105 million Americans =’s ASPE.HHS.gov Under The Affordable Care Act, 105 Million Americans No Longer Face Lifetime Limits on Health Benefits (03/04/2012).
  14. 20,000 people =’s CMS.gov The Affordable Care Act: Increasing Transparency, Protecting Consumers (no date found).
  15. Preventive services =’s 16 page PDF posted by ASPE Access to Preventive Services without Cost-Sharing: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act (01/22/2022).
  16. Increased use =’s KFF.org Preventive Services Covered by Private Health Plans under the Affordable Care Act (10/26/2022).
  17. $3.4 billion =’s 66 page PDF posted by NBER.org Medicaid and Financial Health (11/2017).
  18. Over $1,000 =’s Pub Med The Effect of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansions on Financial Wellbeing (05/07/2018).
  19. Significant drops =’s Center on Budget and Policy Priorities graph Evictions Fell Sharply in Medicaid Expansion States (06/29/2022).
  20. 16 million =’s CMS.gov Marketplace 2023 Open Enrollment Period Report: Final National Snapshot (01/25/2023).
  21. 22 million =’s Data.Medicaid.gov Medicaid Enrollment – New Adult Group (Data sheet based on 2022 enrollment year).
  22. 1 million =’s CMS.gov Marketplace 2023 Open Enrollment Period Report: Final National Snapshot (01/25/2023).
  23. Estimated =’s CBO.gov Cost Estimate of H.R. 1628, American Health Care Act of 2017 (05/24/2017).
  24. Additional =’s Data.Medicaid.gov Medicaid Enrollment – New Adult Group (Data sheet based on 2022 enrollment year).
  25. Research finds =’s Oxford Academic Journal Article Medicaid and Mortality: New Evidence From Linked Survey and Administrative Data (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 136, Issue 3, August 2021, Pages 1783–1829, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjab004 published 01/30/2021).
  26. Improves access to care =’s KFF.org The Effects of Medicaid Expansion under the ACA: Studies from January 2014 to January 2020 (03/17/2020).
  27. Prevents premature deaths =’s Oxford Academic Health Insurance and Mortality: Experimental Evidence from Taxpayer Outreach (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 136, Issue 1, February 2021, Pages 1–49, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaa029 published 09/24/2020).
  28. 7 million =’s CMS.gov CMS Releases First-Ever Home- and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set (07/21/2022).
  29. 13 states =’s KFF.org A Look at Waiting lists for Home and Community-Based Services from 2016 to 2021 (11/28/2022).
  30. 60 percent =’s MACPAC.gov Nursing facilities (no date found).
  31. Many =’s KFF.org Trends in State Medicaid Programs: Looking Back and Looking Ahead (06/21/2016).
  32. Research =’s White House.gov FACT SHEET: Protecting Seniors by Improving Safety and Quality of Care in the Nation’s Nursing Homes (02/28/2022).
  33. Millions =’s The Hill opinion piece Keep Obamacare to keep progress on treating opioid disorders and mental illnesses (01/11/2017).
  34. Increases =’s KFF.org Building on the Evidence Base: Studies on the Effects of Medicaid Expansion, February 2020 to March 2021 (05/06/2021).
  35.  Improved access =’s KFF.org The Effects of Medicaid Expansion under the ACA: Studies from January 2014 to January 2020 (03/17/2020).
  36. 34 million =’s 13 page PDF posted by Medicaid.gov October 2022 Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Trends Snapshot (10/2022).
  37. About $12 billion =’s Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Uncompensated Care Costs Fell in Nearly Every State as ACA’s Major Coverage Provisions Took Effect (05/23/2018).
  38. Disproportionately improved rural hospital margins =’s Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion Benefits Hospitals, Particularly in Rural America (06/23/2017).
  39. Helped avert =’s Health Affairs.org Understanding The Relationship Between Medicaid Expansions And Hospital Closures (01/2018).
  40. At-risk hospitals =’s Beckers Hospital Review Paywalled 892 Hospital at risk of closure state by state (03/04/2018).
  41. Patient groups =’s CFF.org Sixteen Patient and Provider Groups Oppose Graham-Cassidy Bill (09/18/2017).
  42. Physicians =’s 2 page PDF letter posted by the U.S. Senate written by the America Medical Association to oppose Graham-Cassidy Bill (09/19/2017).
  43. Hospitals =’s 2 page PDF letter sent by the American Hospital Association to oppose any repeal on Obamacare (07/25/207).
  44. Insurers =’s Forbes.com Health Plans Rip ‘Skinny Repeal’ As Disaster For Insurance Markets (07/27/2017)
  45.  Insurance regulators =’s KFF.org Views of Governors and Insurance Commissioners on ACA Repeal and Changes to Medicaid: Responses to a Congressional Request for State Input on Health Reform (03/03/2017).
  46. Health care experts =’s Politico.com Kimmel, not Cassidy, is right on health care, analysts say (09/20/2017).
  47. Governors from both parties =’s 2 page PDF letter sent to the Senate to oppose Cassidy-Graham bill by 10 Governors (09/17/2017).

President Biden’s Tuesday remarks @3:00 p.m. D.C., time.


The remaining Monday Tweets…

The YouTube is 37 minutes and 51 seconds long. Their full remarks can be found here.


President Biden: In faith and action, policy and culture, and so much more, we see the vibrancy of Black culture and history enriching all of American life — all of American life. A history that can’t be buried because it lives in the soul of this nation.

President Biden: To deliver equal justice under the law, we’re building a federal bench with judges that reflect all of America, led by Ketanji Brown Jackson.  (Applause.) 

President Biden: We have appointed more Black women to the federal circuit courts than every other President in history combined.  (Applause.)  Every single, solitary one. 

The video is 44 seconds long.

President Biden: In faith and action, policy and culture, and so much more, we see the vibrancy of Black culture and history enriching all of American life — all of American life.  A history that can’t be buried because it lives in the soul of this nation. It’s who we are.  It’s who we are.  It matters. As the gospel song sings, “We’ve come too far from where we started.  Nobody told me the road would be easy.  I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.”  (Applause.) Folks — (applause) — folks, I don’t think the Good Lord brought us — any of us — this far to leave us behind.

Tuesday’s 4th tweet…

President Biden: We cut Black child poverty in half in 2021 because of the Child Tax Credit.  Look, we need to help make that tax credit permanent now.  (Applause.)


This is an Open Thread.

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About Tiff 2519 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.