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Published 19:40 IST, February 1st 2020

Doctor confronts US VP Mike Pence over Trump administration's announced cuts to Medicaid

A video is going viral on social media that shows a doctor politely confronting US Vice President Mike Pence over the cuts to Medicaid by Trump administration.

Reported by: Vishal Tiwari
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A video is going viral on social media that shows a doctor politely confronting United States Vice President Mike Pence over the cuts to Medicaid, a federal and state program that helps with medical costs for people with limited income and resources. According to Dr. Rob Davidson, Mike Pence came to a restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa, where he was grabbing a bite late on Thursday. In the video, Davidson asked Pence about the recent Trump administration's move to cut down funding for Medicaid.

Doctor confronts VP Mike Pence

Davidson in the video introduced himself before asking Pence, "I am worried about the plans (Trump) talked about last week to maybe cut Medicare, and then the rollout today of cutting Medicaid. I work in one of the poorest counties in Michigan and my patients depend on expanded Medicaid, so how is that going to affect my patients?"

Pence looked confused before saying, "I hadn't heard about the cuts in Medicaid."

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Davidson not getting distracted by his comments asked again, "The head of CMS (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) announced the plan to let states file for waivers so they could get block grants, so that would essentially cut the amount of money going to states. So that would cut federal Medicaid funding. Is that a good idea?"

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Pence then tries to shift the conversation to a discussion about his time as governor of Indiana. Pence in the video said, "When I was the governor of Indiana, we got a waiver from the Obama administration, it actually allowed us to expand Medicaid coverage in the states."

Davidson then replied, "I was talking about the president and your administration right now, what they're doing. Right now, they're cutting Medicaid... Your administration just announced this, they rolled it out today." 

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The conversation then extended into the second video before Pence said that he respectfully disagrees with Davidson. The emergency physician was pressing Pence about a new plan that would allow Trump administration to use waivers and block grants to cut federal Medicaid funding.

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(With Agency Inputs)

19:40 IST, February 1st 2020