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Lujan Grisham: Medicaid cuts a "disaster"
The pursuing is the transcript of an interrogation with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected May 11, 2025.
ED O'KEEFE: Welcome backmost to "Face the Nation." We crook present to New Mexico's Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is joining america this greeting from Santa Fe. Governor, large to spot you. Part of the crushed we wanted to perceive from you this week is Republicans present successful Washington are debating the aboriginal of Medicaid and are proposing each sorts of imaginable changes to the program. Your state's got the highest Medicaid enrollment per capita, past we checked. We- hoping to get immoderate clarity this week connected what it is precisely Republicans are reasoning of doing with their fund blueprint regarding Medicaid. But I recognize 70%- much than 70% of Medicaid sum successful your state, comes from national funding. If they commencement to marque cuts of immoderate sort, bash you person a program to marque up the difference?
GOV. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM: Well look, Ed, I deliberation each state, including this one, is going to bash everything they tin to support the radical that they are serving. And so, we'll bash the precise same- and successful fact, we've created benignant of these Medicaid and related wellness attraction authorities funded programs and spot funds. But this is precise simply an effort to destruct wellness attraction arsenic we cognize it, to rip it distant from mundane Americans, marque it much costly for everybody else, it volition adjacent hospitals- deliberation thing similar 432 hospitals crossed the state are connected the borderline close now. About a 3rd of their backing comes- oregon more, comes from Medicaid. So you person little providers who person less entree points. No state, including this one- nary authorities tin instrumentality this benignant of outgo shifting. And you know, businesses past don't person employees due to the fact that they don't person entree to wellness care. It has a immense economical origin that they aren't talking about, which is outrageous- and I lone privation to bash 1 much speedy point, due to the fact that I cognize we privation to get to different stuff. We had a politician who was trying to- I think, close earlier me, my- Governor Martinez, and to her credit, was looking astatine ways successful a recession epoch system successful New Mexico, to look to person outgo savings. They wholly chopped behavioral wellness retired of Medicaid, and much than a decennary later, we are inactive digging retired providers left, contractors left. People don't person access. People died, much cause abuse, much cause addiction, much behavioral health. High hazard issues. It is simply a disaster, and radical volition die. Children volition die.
ED O'KEEFE: I bash wonder- arsenic portion of this imaginable rollback, would you person to revisit the determination to grow Medicaid nether the Affordable Care Act if the national authorities cuts backmost connected funding?
GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM: So I'm committed successful New Mexico to put successful prime and access. If we were to rotation backmost those expansions, we can't bash that. I would presume that my legislature is going to expect me, truthful I'm going to- it's a teaser that I'm going to travel retired for making definite that we clasp Medicaid and tell- if those cuts come, we get Congress- truthful this is simply a plea to mundane Americans. You telephone your subordinate of Congress, you fto them cognize what this interaction means to you and your family. Women- remember, less OBGYNs, less entree points, higher maternal wellness mortality rates, higher babe mortality rates--
ED O'KEEFE: Yeah.
GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM: We request to marque definite that Congress understands this is nary mode to set oregon code wellness attraction issues, which could usage immoderate efficiencies and could usage immoderate prime investments. There's nary uncertainty that there's immoderate discarded and fraud. Do that. Indiscriminately conscionable tearing isolated Medicaid means that you are going aft hard moving Americans successful favour of billionaires and corporations who don't need- oregon are asking for this $1.5 trillion taxation cut.
ED O'KEEFE: That is- this is an contented that each and each politician is going to person to woody with successful 1 mode oregon different arsenic Congress sorts retired what to do. I privation to inquire you astir a much unsocial 1 to New Mexico and conscionable a fistful of different states. You, of course, stock a borderline with Mexico, and the Trump medication has present acceptable up a unsocial nationalist defence country on that astir 170 mile span, giving the service power of that portion for astir 3 years. You're looking astatine a representation there. That country successful yellowish is fundamentally this caller nationalist defence area. It means troops tin detain trespassers who participate that area. I'm curious, does this easiness your concerns astir borderline crossings arsenic a borderline authorities governor? Is this the mode to bash it?
GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM: I don't deliberation it is. That is not my- my astir large interest successful the deficiency of owed process and what I judge are wide violations to the Constitution and what we're doing astir immigration. Here's what I judge we ought to beryllium doing- and I judge the bulk of the members of my state, walk borderline argumentation successful Congress, prosecute much Border Patrol agents, marque definite we're utilizing the subject successful places wherever we request them marque definite that states person entree to their defender for earthy disasters and related issues. This makes nary sense. We've had the lowest, for respective administrations now, borderline crossings.* We should beryllium doing more. We should beryllium doing much to forestall folks from not having entree to beryllium capable to get visas and assertion exile and asylum status. We shouldn't conscionable beryllium doing that to South Africans. This makes nary sense. But that's not my biggest issue. My bigger contented is indiscriminate ICE raids and sweeps sowing fearfulness successful communities and with businesses each crossed the country, and that includes galore communities close present successful New Mexico. I've done a borderline alert over. I'm paying attention. You know, it's- it's disconcerting to spot tanks rolling close on your border, acting and demonstrating these benignant of subject powers successful that way--
ED O'KEEFE: Yeah.
GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM: But I would similar that Congress- the quicker they walk a borderline bill- a bipartisan borderline bill, past possibly we would person immoderate communal consciousness successful this debate. Go aft the cartel. Go aft atrocious members. Bring maine nationalist safety. Do that statewide. That makes the difference. They aren't doing that. They're rolling astir successful tanks, allegedly detaining 100 radical oregon much in- I don't adjacent cognize what clip frame–
ED O'KEEFE: We'll continue--
GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM: That accusation is hard to get.
ED O'KEEFE: Right. We'll proceed to way it and inquire those questions to get a consciousness of however galore are being detained--
GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM: Okay.
ED O'KEEFE: Governor, convey you truthful overmuch for joining us. We admit it, and we'll beryllium close back.
*Editor's Note: The fig of attempted migrant crossings astatine the U.S.-Mexico borderline reached a scope monthly precocious nether the Biden aministration successful December 2023 earlier declining the pursuing year.
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