The Economic Populism of Donald Trump

Finally, someone is listening to the economic anxiety of the American people and determined that too many poor people have access to healthcare:

The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would allow states to cap Medicaid spending for many poor adults, a major shift long sought by conservatives that gives states the option of reducing health benefits for millions who gained coverage through the program under the Affordable Care Act.

Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said states that sought the arrangement — an approach often referred to as block grants — would have broad flexibility to design coverage for the affected group under Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor that was created more than 50 years ago as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society.

The announcement by Ms. Verma, who often speaks of wanting to “transform” Medicaid, comes as her efforts to let states require adults on Medicaid to work or train for a job — which led to 17,000 people in Arkansas losing coverage in 2018 — are mired in court battles.

And Trump isn’t betraying any promises here — he campaigned repeatedly on repealing the entire 2010 Medicaid expansion. It’s just that some people cherry-picked what they wanted to hear to justify their indifference-at-best about the outcome of the 2016 election.