Yesterday, House Republicans voted to move forward with their budget which includes $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, such a drastic proposal will lead to the largest cuts in Medicaid history and rip health care away from millions of seniors in nursing homes, children, veterans, working families, and more. Now that Congressional Republicans have approved Medicaid cuts once again, they will begin discussions on how they plan to slash the program and millions of Americans’ health care.
Following their devastating vote, Republicans have been lying to the American people. On camera and in public, they promise never to cut Medicaid, insisting they’re just targeting “waste.” But behind closed doors, they’re deciding who to throw off health care – grandma’s in nursing homes, cancer patients, children and adults with disabilities, or hardworking families in rural communities. It’s cruel, calculated, and dishonest.
New York Times: Republicans Clash Over Medicaid in Hunt to Pay for Trump’s Agenda
- “Republican leaders have insisted that they have no plans to cut Medicaid, and Mr. Johnson said that Mr. Trump would not endorse cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. “We’re going to protect the benefits that everyone is legally entitled to,” Mr. Johnson said. But it will be nearly impossible for Republicans to get to $1.5 trillion in spending cuts without touching Medicaid. Though Mr. Johnson suggested the party would consider imposing work requirements and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, those changes would almost certainly not be enough to reach their target.’”
The Hill: All eyes on Medicaid
- “Until now, the discussions have involved theoretical numbers, with lawmakers avoiding any specifics about Medicaid. They’ve waved vaguely at the idea of cutting “waste fraud and abuse” without diving into just how big the cuts will be and who will be impacted. That’s all likely going to change.”
Axios: House clears budget hurdle with Medicaid fight ahead
- “Between the lines: There is tension between the goal of hitting $1.5 trillion in cuts with the pledge to also not harm any Medicaid benefits. ‘Senate Republicans passed the budget resolution on a promise of fewer cuts to Medicaid,” Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden wrote on X. “House Republicans are set to pass it on a promise of deep cuts to the tune of $1.5 trillion dollars. Both things cannot be true.’”
New York Times: Chip Roy Says Promise of Deep Entitlement Cuts Won His Vote
- “Mr. Roy ended up being one of more than a dozen G.O.P. holdouts who ultimately supported the resolution on Thursday. Not long afterward, he explained his turnabout. He said he had “reluctantly voted” for the measure only after President Trump and his party’s House and Senate leaders had promised privately that they would embrace far more spending reductions, specifically deep cuts to entitlement programs including Medicaid and the elimination of clean energy tax credits.”
Punchbowl News: House Republicans’ next headache: The Medicaid fight
- “There would be intense pressure from House Freedom Caucus members and other deficit hawks to draft a reconciliation package that meets the House’s spending cut instructions. That would mean $880 billion in cuts from the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction – the vast majority of which would need to come from Medicaid.”
The Hill: House GOP adopts Trump budget blueprint after last-minute scramble
- “The adopted budget resolution directs the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find at least $880 billion in spending cuts, which many moderates worry will require deep slashes to Medicaid — a nonstarter for them. The comments on Thursday about finding at least $1.5 trillion in cuts appeared to exacerbate those concerns.”
Business Insider: Republicans Pass Trump-Backed Tax Plan That Could Drastically Cut Medicaid
- Johnson and GOP leaders have repeatedly stressed that their bill does not explicitly cut Medicaid, a healthcare program for millions of disabled and low-income Americans. However, Medicaid will likely get cut by or near $880 billion over a decade, as Medicaid and Medicare, which Trump has pledged not to cut, comprise most of the committee’s budget. The federal government picks up the bulk of the tab for Medicaid spending. As of 2023, the federal share was about 72%.
Medicare Rights Center: House Adopts Senate Budget Plan, Laying the Groundwork for Significant Health Care Cuts
- “[Republicans] are reportedly considering damaging policies like eligibility restrictions, funding rollbacks, and access barriers. Other vital programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), are also at risk, and Medicare could also be in play.”
- “[A]ny cut to Medicaid is a cut to Medicare. Over 12 million people with Medicare also have health coverage through Medicaid, which pays for necessary services that Medicare does not. It is the primary payor for long-term services and supports for people who need home- and community-based services and nursing home care, and it also plays a vital role in helping support family caregivers.”
- “According to recent analysis, by 2060, 23% of the population will be 65 or older (up from 15% in 2016), and 19 million Americans will be 85 or older (a 198% increase from 2016).”
Mountain State Spotlight: West Virginia’s Republicans Said They Wouldn’t Cut Medicaid. Then They Voted to Cut Medicaid.
- “In early March, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito looked into the camera and told anyone watching that she wouldn’t kick any West Virginians off Medicaid… Sen. Jim Justice told Axios last month that he had concerns about cuts to Medicaid, which serves nearly 30% of the state’s population. Last weekend, Capito and Justice voted to move along a budget plan that would require $880 billion in cuts over the next decade, largely to Medicaid. When offered an amendment to prevent those cuts, the two Republicans voted with their party against it. Had they switched their votes, it could’ve stopped the cuts.”
- “West Virginia could lose over half a billion federal dollars under this proposal, according to one analysis released last month. On a per capita basis, the state would have the largest cut in the nation. And state Republicans have already shown they’re ready to throw thousands off Medicaid if Congress cuts the program.”
The Gothamist: Half of NYC is on Medicaid. Here’s What To Know About the Fight in Congress.
- “New Yorkers have a lot on the line as the Republican-controlled Congress considers cuts to Medicaid that potentially total $880 billion over the course of the next decade, according to health care officials, lawmakers and policy experts… About half of the 8 million residents in the five boroughs are covered through the [Medicaid] program, which pays for their doctor’s visits, hospital stays, and addiction and mental health treatment. It also pays for most long-term care for elderly and disabled residents, which is generally not covered by other forms of insurance… Statewide, traditional Medicaid covers about 7 million New Yorkers, while [Medicaid Expansion] covers another 1.6 million.”
- “If $880 billion in cuts were implemented evenly over a decade and applied proportionally to each state, New York would lose about $10 billion a year, or $400 per resident, according to one KFF analysis. If New York wanted to preserve Medicaid coverage, KFF determined, the state could offset the losses by raising taxes 7%. Or it could opt to cut education spending by $14,200 per student.”
Newsweek: What Republican Budget That Passed House Means for Medicare, SNAP
- “The scope of the proposed committee-level cuts would represent one of the largest rollbacks of public benefit programs in recent memory. The combined reduction in Medicaid and SNAP could total more than $1.1 trillion over the next decade, leading to the loss of more than 1 million jobs and a $113 billion hit to state economies by 2026, according to a comprehensive analysis by the Commonwealth Fund.”
Modern Healthcare: U.S. House Speaker’s District Relies on Medicaid – He’s Pushing for Cuts
- “Of the eight GOP-held House districts with the most Medicaid enrollees due to the expansion, four are in Louisiana. Johnson’s largely rural district ranks sixth in expansion enrollees. Among them is Chloe Stovall, 23, who works in the produce aisle at the SuperValu grocery store in Vivian, Louisiana. She said her take-home wage working full time is $200 a week. She doesn’t own a car and walks a mile to work…“I’m just barely surviving,” she said.”
- “Desoto CEO Todd Eppler said Medicaid cuts could make it harder for his hospital to repay the loans and for patients to access care. ‘I just hope that the people who are making these decisions have thought deeply about it and have some context of the real-world implications,’ he said, ‘because it’s going to affect us as a hospital and going to affect our patients.’”
Talking Points Memo: House GOP Hardliners Cave, Unlocking Process to Make Sweeping Medicaid Cuts
- “Johnson said Republicans are ‘committed to finding at least $1.5 trillion in savings for the American people while also preserving our essential programs,’ adding that they will ‘aim much higher’ than just the $1.5 trillion. Johnson indicated Medicaid is one of those ’essential programs’ that will be preserved, but major Medicaid cuts are baked into the budget resolution’s requirements.”
Daily Kos: House GOP Passes Budget That Guts Medicaid to Give Tax Cuts to the Rich
- “Until now, Republicans lied by saying that their budget wouldn’t slash Medicaid and food stamps—something they could do because the budget only included topline numbers each committee was instructed to cut. But now GOP lawmakers will have to actually put pen to paper and lay out the specific cuts they will make.”
New Republic: Mike Johnson Reveals His Disastrous Plans for Medicaid
- “‘What we’ve talked about is returning work requirements, so for example you don’t have able-bodied young men on a program that’s designed for single mothers and the elderly and disabled.’ [said Speaker Johnson]… But Republican proposals to introduce a work requirement to Medicaid have thus far asked recipients to navigate work-reporting and verification systems on a monthly basis—a detail that would require significant federal funding. The plans would also negate coverage for individuals who find themselves temporarily unemployed, such as those who were recently fired or laid off. A February report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that introducing work requirements to the insurance program could strip upward of 36 million Americans of their health coverage—half of Medicaid’s 72 million enrollees.”
East County Magazine: House GOP Approves Economic Attack on the Poor to Fund ‘Big Payout’ for Billionaires
- “In a party-line vote, House Republicans on Thursday approved a budget blueprint that sets the stage for the GOP to pass another round of tax cuts for the rich, paid for in part by slashing Medicaid, federal nutrition assistance, and other critical programs.”
- “Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said in a statement that ‘in this budget framework, there is no way to cut $1.5 trillion in spending while protecting health coverage through Medicaid and food assistance through [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program].'”