Congressional lawmakers are dealing with difficult arithmetic as they hammer out a funds plan to finance President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Republicans have to release roughly $4 trillion to pay for renewing Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which expire on the finish of the 12 months. Trump has vowed to not contact the most costly authorities packages, together with Medicare and Social Safety.
He’s been much less clear about his plan for Medicaid.
On Wednesday, he endorsed a Home GOP plan that cuts not less than $880 billion from, very seemingly, Medicaid — the federal-state medical health insurance program for Individuals with low incomes or disabilities.
As my colleague Phil Galewitz experiences, adjustments to increase Medicaid have grow to be entrenched in most states — and their budgets — over the previous decade. Hospitals, which not solely deal with but in addition make use of quite a lot of Individuals, are reaching out to Congress with issues.
Medicaid can also be standard. A January KFF ballot discovered that about 3 in 4 Individuals view this system favorably. So Republicans must be strategic about cuts.
However first, let’s again up. What’s Medicaid? My colleague Sam Whitehead and I revealed a helpful explainer this week.
Medicaid, which turns 60 this summer season, was created as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Nice Society” technique to assault poverty together with Medicare, the federal medical health insurance program for these 65 and older.
Greater than 79 million individuals obtain companies from Medicaid or its intently associated Kids’s Well being Insurance coverage Program. That’s about 20% of the nation’s inhabitants.
About 40% of all kids are coated by Medicaid or CHIP. Medicaid additionally pays for 4 in 10 births and covers prices of caring for greater than 60% of nursing dwelling residents.
State and federal spending on this system reached $880 billion final 12 months.
Again in Washington, Phil writes that the GOP is contemplating a number of methods to shrink Medicaid.
They may scale back how a lot cash the federal authorities sends to states, leaving state leaders to resolve whether or not and how you can plug funds holes.
One thought Republicans are overtly speaking about is imposing work necessities. Most adults enrolled in Medicaid are already working or in all probability can be exempt as a result of they’re in class, are caregivers, or are disabled.
However, as Sam and I report, state experiences with work necessities present they make it more durable for even eligible individuals to get protection.
On the coronary heart of all of it are key questions concerning the function of presidency in individuals’s well being: How massive ought to the U.S. medical insurance coverage security internet be? Who deserves authorities help?
And, maybe most urgently, the place will those that might lose Medicaid go for protection?
We’d like to talk with present and former personnel from the Division of Well being and Human Providers or its element businesses who imagine the general public ought to perceive the affect of what’s taking place throughout the federal well being paperwork. Please message KFF Well being Information on Sign at (415) 519-8778 or get in contact right here.
We encourage organizations to republish our content material, freed from cost. Right here’s what we ask:
You will need to credit score us as the unique writer, with a hyperlink to our kffhealthnews.org website. If doable, please embrace the unique writer(s) and KFF Well being Information” within the byline. Please protect the hyperlinks within the story.
It’s essential to notice, not every little thing on kffhealthnews.org is accessible for republishing. If a narrative is labeled “All Rights Reserved,” we can not grant permission to republish that merchandise.
Have questions? Tell us at KHNHelp@kff.org
