Republican lawmakers from districts with large numbers of Medicaid enrollees spent part of last week lobbying against slashing Medicaid funding, reports Amanda Seitz of The Associated Press. "Republicans, who already have ruled out massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare, are turning their attention to siphoning as much as $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade to help finance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts."
Unlike years ago when Medicaid was considered health care coverage for only the poorest Americans, the popular program now covers more than 70 million Americans who rely on it for everything from nursing home care to emergency room visits. Seitz writes, "GOP pressure over Medicaid is mounting, with some state party leaders joining the calls to preserve the program."
Last week, President Donald Trump promised to leave Medicaid untouched; however, the problem of funding Trump's promised tax cuts remains. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he's targeting "fraudulent or wasteful" Medicaid spending "although it’s unlikely to deliver the savings Republicans seek," Seitz reports. Additional cost-saving could come through work requirements.
Even without axing program funding, Republicans could save money by reducing coverage benefits, but those limitations could spark voter backlash. "Democrats warn that reductions are inevitable and could be dire," Seitz reports. "Starting Monday, TV ads will caution people across 20 congressional districts that hospitals are at risk of closing and millions of people could lose coverage if Republicans cut Medicaid 'to fund massive tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires.'"
Nationally, Medicaid has wide-ranging support. Seitz reports, "Fifty-five percent of Americans said the government spends too little on Medicaid." Drew Altman, president of the health care research firm KFF, told Seitz, “It’s now a very popular program that touches a very broad cross-section of American society. Roughly half of the American people say that they or a family member have at one time been served by the program.”
