House Republicans announce Medicaid cuts, Democrats warn that millions will be left behind by accident
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans announced late Sunday the cost-saving core of President Donald Trump’s “big and beautiful bill”, which would cut at least $880 billion to significantly cut Medicaid to help pay for the $4.5 trillion tax cut.
The legislation brings together several pages on hundreds of pages, covering the biggest political struggles since Republicans tried to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, which was in a failure in Trump’s first semester in 2017.
While Republicans insist they are just rooting for “waste, fraud and abuse” to save new jobs and qualification requirements, Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the proposals will reduce the number of health care workers by 8.6 million in a decade.
“Saving such savings allow us to use this bill to renew tax breaks and secure Republicans’ commitment to hard-working middle-class families,” said Rep. Brett Guthrie, Kentucky, a Republican Committee member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which deals with health care spending.
But Democrats say the cuts are “shameful” and are essentially another attempt to abolish Obamacare.
“There is no doubt that millions of Americans will lose their health care coverage,” said Frank Pallone, New Jersey, the top Democrat in the panel. “Hospitals will be closed and seniors will not be able to access the care they need, and if the bill passes, premiums for millions will increase,” he said.
As Republicans compete for the Memorial Day deadline for House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass Trump’s massive tax bills and spending cuts, they are preparing to flood the area at this week’s 24/7 public hearings on various sections before sewing them together.
Future politics is uncertain. More than a dozen House Republicans told Johnson and Republican leaders that they will not support cuts in the health care safety net program on which residents rely on when they go home. Trump himself has shunned the duplication of his first term and vowed not to cut Medicaid.
All in all, when Republicans seek at least $1.5 trillion in savings to help pay for retaining the 2017 tax break, it is the 11-year House committee that has been compiling various parts of the package that was approved during Trump’s first term and expired at the end of the year.
But a strong energy and business committee has been one of the most watched people. The committee was directed to propose $880 billion in savings and to achieve that primarily by cutting health care, but also by returning to the Biden-era green energy program. The CBO preliminary analysis said the committee's proposal would reduce the deficit by $912 billion over a decade, with at least $715 billion of that coming from health regulations.
At the heart of savings is changes to Medicaid, which provides nearly free health care to more than 70 million Americans, and the Affordable Care Act, which has expanded 15 years since it was first approved to cover millions of dollars.
To obtain Medicaid, a new “community engagement requirement” for at least 80 hours a month for work, education or services is provided to adults without family members. People also have to verify their eligibility to participate in the program twice a year, not once.
This is likely to result in more churn of the program and provide barriers to people, especially when they have to drive to their local welfare office to verify their income in person. But Republicans say it will ensure that the program is managed for those who are eligible.
Many states have expanded their Medicaid roster due to federal incentives, but the legislation will reduce growth by 5%, which was achieved during the pandemic during the 19th Date. Immigration funds that do not show certificates of citizenship will be prohibited to states.
The so-called provider tax will freeze the costs used by some states to help cover most of their Medicaid programs. Additional taxes often lead to high federal payments, critics say, a vulnerability that causes system abuse.
The legislation has much fewer pages, but includes a rollback of climate change strategies President Joe Biden signed into law in the Lower Inflation Act.
It recommends withdrawing funds from a range of energy loans and investment programs, while providing accelerated licensing for gas development and oil pipelines.
__Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz contributed to the report.
