Brian Blase, Ph.D., is the President of Paragon Health Institute. Brian was Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC) from 2017-2019, where he coordinated the development and execution of numerous health policies and advised the President, NEC director, and senior officials. After leaving the White House, Brian founded Blase Policy Strategies and served as its CEO.
The Washington Post’s Health 202 Featured an Interview with Brian Blase – February 8, 2024
On February 8, 2024, The Washington Post‘s Health 202 featured an interview with Paragon President Brian Blase on “health-care priorities for a GOP White House.”
From the interview:
H202: Let’s say a Republican takes the White House back in 2025. What is at the top of your to-do list?
Blase: Medicaid also needs significant reform. The Medicaid program is working well for powerful interest groups; it’s not working well for the people on the program. So what can we do to empower the people on the program and get financing more directly under their control? We also need to reduce the huge disparities in how the federal government aids states through Medicaid, and end the discrimination against the traditional Medicaid recipients in favor of the expansion population.
H202: Where do you stand on Medicaid expansion, and how would you like to see Congress and the presidential candidates address it?
Blase: I [recently] tweeted that the number one conservative entitlement reform aim should be to equalize the reimbursement rates between populations. I do think states that have already expanded should be allowed to keep their expansion. But again, I think that the reimbursement rates from the federal government should be equalized so that there’s no discrimination against those who are much more vulnerable.
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