Nation’s governors set to gather in Providence

PROVIDENCE — The nation’s governors gather this week amid great uncertainties for their states — on health care, solutions to the opioid overdose epidemic, even how to address the effects of climate change without help from the federal government.

Proposed changes to the nation’s existing health care law will be front and center as Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate seek ways to salvage their overhaul effort.

Governors from both parties have spoken out against elements of the most recent bill, which could have enormous consequences for the states. Their nonpartisan group, the National Governors Association, has called on the Senate to give governors a say in shaping any reforms.

Their summer meeting begins today in Providence and will include an address by Vice President Mike Pence.

Governors in states that expanded Medicaid under former President Barack Obama’s health care law are especially concerned as Republicans in Congress try to make good on their repeated promises to repeal and replace the law.

A bill that passed the House and one proposed in the Senate eventually would phase out the federal subsidy that most states used to expand Medicaid coverage.

Governors prefer a bipartisan approach to any changes, said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who works with a Legislature controlled by Democrats.

“Many times, one of the big messages we deliver to our colleagues in Washington is you should all try to work a little harder to get along with one another and find common ground,” he told reporters Tuesday when asked about the health care debate.

Governors from more than 30 states and the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have said they will attend the gathering in Rhode Island. A governors-only session will give the chief executives a chance to ask questions of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Seema Verma, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Among those expected to attend is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is scheduled to speak about international collaboration.