Medicaid and opioids

Sen. Toomey cannot shirk duty to those in need

One of 13 Republican senators drafting a new health care bill, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey favors whittling down Medicaid expansion funding. As Medicaid is the largest payer for medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders nationwide, he will influence the care available to poor heroin and opioid-addicted adults in Pennsylvania and nationwide.

But other Senate Republicans, including Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, are fearful of cuts and want to protect Medicaid expansion that occurred under Democratic President Barack Obama. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has asked Mr. Toomey and Mr. Portman to work on a compromise.

That may be difficult, but the two are up to the job. Mr. Toomey, for example, has shown a laudable pragmatism in working with Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr., a Democrat, on appointments to the federal judiciary. He should be able to find common ground with fellow GOP member Mr. Portman, who also has a practical outlook.

Ohio and Pennsylvania were two of 31 states that accepted federal Medicaid funding under Obamacare and two of the states hardest hit by the national opioid epidemic. As it stands now, the House-approved health care bill repealing Obamacare would cut $880 billion from Medicaid, saving federal taxpayers billions up front. Yet experts question how to reconcile this cut with the robust health care coverage President Donald Trump pledged in the campaign.

Mr. Toomey must keep the opioid crisis in mind during the Medicaid deliberations and prioritize the health of his constituents. He has championed bills designed to manage the epidemic in the past, most notably the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. Let’s hope he again fights for the Pennsylvanians he has sworn to protect.