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The Republican budget proposal could result in millions of Americans losing access to Medicaid if the program funding is cut by billions of dollars and working requirements are introduced, according to a report by The Associated Press.
Newsweek has contacted the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson via email for comment.
Why It Matters
As Medicaid's main aim is to provide health coverage for those with limited incomes and resources, the plans to cut funding for the program have sparked significant anger. Should Medicaid lose funding, it could impact some 80 million people using the program, and many of them voted for President Donald Trump.
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What To Know
House Republicans released a budget plan on Wednesday that outlined a number of the president's priorities, including up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit, and cuts to spending by at least $1.5 trillion as part of a goal to reduce spending by $2 trillion over 10 years, per the AP.
Medicaid, an $880 billion program, is financed mostly by federal taxpayers, and makes up for around 80 percent of the costs for some states. States have had to absorb costs of major increases in Medicaid enrollment following the COVID-19 pandemic and when the program was expanded to help more Americans struggling to afford health care.
Given its high cost as a program, it seems likely that it will be hit by funding cuts among other measures in order to bring government spending down, even though Trump's previous federal funding freeze was met with public outrage from both political parties, according to Politico.
Just over 50 percent of U.S. adults believe the government spends "too little" on Medicaid, according to AP. It also seems that Trump and his aides are aware of the politically divisive nature of Medicaid cuts, per Politico, and they have allegedly been saying in private that they are worried steep Medicaid cuts would be politically radioactive.
In order to bring down the costs of Medicaid, the GOP is toying with the idea of bringing in work requirements, however this has been met with significant criticism.
Dr. Megan B. Cole, co-director of Boston University Medicaid Policy Lab, previously told *Newsweek, "*nearly all able-bodied persons enrolled in Medicaid currently work," meaning that those who do not work are "either disabled or having care taking responsibilities."
Implementing work requirements and cutting funding is therefore likely to significantly reduce the number people eligible for the program, meaning millions of Americans could be without health care.
What People Are Saying
Dean Baker, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a liberal think tank, told the news outlet salon.com: "It looks like they're primarily targeting Medicaid and food stamps." Baker added that in order for the GOP to hit its goals, it would require cuts of around 20 percent" to Medicaid.
Allison Orris, a fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank, told salon.com: "Any way you look at it it's impossible to come up with policies that would cut Medicaid that dramatically and wouldn't hurt people. Even work requirements, which are at their root a way to cut people off of coverage, wouldn't save nearly $800 billion."
He added: "Whether it's a combination of policies like reducing the level of financing states currently get to pay for Medicaid expansions or introducing a hard cap on per person spending, all of those would fundamentally change the way that Medicaid operates today and would result in people losing coverage. You're right to connect the very big number to very deep cuts."
House Speaker Mike Johnson said while discussing imposing work requirements for Medicaid, according to AP: "It's common sense. Little things like that make a big difference not only in the budgeting process but in the morale of the people. You know, work is good for you. You find dignity in work."
Boston University Professor Dr. Paul Shafer, told Newsweek: "A key feature of [the GOP's] plans appears to be limiting the scope of Medicaid, either through per capita caps or block granting, which would place a per person or statewide limit on how much the federal government would contribute to states' costs for Medicaid.
"Currently, states receive a set percentage of their spending as a match, regardless of how much they spend, which allows the program to flex to meet the needs of each state as economic conditions change.
"We would likely see substantial cuts to the number of people eligible for Medicaid, by potentially millions to tens of millions, while also making it harder for people to get and stay on by adding work requirements and more frequent income verification.
"Some states may also reverse course on their Medicaid expansions if the enhanced funding for that population goes away."
He added: "They appear to be piecing together the budget cuts required to offset a $4.5 trillion tax cut, $2 trillion of which would have to come from mandatory spending on programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP (food assistance). We can't know for sure how deep the cuts will be to specific programs, but they would have to be dramatic in order to hit that target."
He also said: "Covering more people and helping them stay healthy has a cost. However, there is substantial evidence, through hundreds of studies, that Medicaid expansion has improved health insurance coverage, access to care, and health, while reducing mortality and bolstering state economies.
"We should not look at the budgetary savings of cutting Medicaid in a vacuum; this would have a big impact on the health and well-being of our communities. The consequences of that absolutely should factor in."
What Happens Next
It is currently down to the Energy and Commerce Committee to decide what programs and areas will see funding cuts under the new budget.
The committee oversees Medicaid funding as well as energy and climate programs, Federal Communications Commission, food and drug safety and several more programs, which may also face cuts.
Update 02/19/25, 03:09 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Dr. Paul Shafer.
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