On Tuesday, Feb. 25, House Republicans passed the budget resolution to begin the process of making President Trump’s legislative agenda into law. According to ABC News, the vote of 217-215 was a “big and critical win for Speaker Mike Johnson, who was dealing with an extremely narrow GOP majority.”
One might wonder why Republicans have begun to focus on Medicaid funding when, if gutted, it would affect the livelihood of millions of Americans. Bernie Sanders even shared on Twitter, “Medicaid provides health care to 41 million children.”
The answer is on expiring tax cuts that were originally passed during Trump’s first administration. CNN Politics shares, “In order to offset those tax cuts, Republicans need to find cuts. One option being seriously considered is to squeeze up to $880 billion from federal programs over 10 years, including Medicaid.”
According to Jim McGovern, Democrats had offered an amendment to protect Medicaid, yet every Republican voted ‘no.’ They proposed another amendment that would extend tax cuts for people making under $400,000 while ensuring billionaires and corporations would pay their share of taxes. Republicans voted no to said amendment.
However, not all Republicans wish for Medicaid funding to be cut. Conservative Sen. Josh Hawley, from Missouri, is against the cuts proposed for the health insurance. He told CNN, “Anything that slashes into benefits for people who are working, I’m not going to be for, and I think that’s probably going to be true for a lot of my colleagues.” This is an important statement by a Republican Senator, especially when one-fifth of the population of Missouri benefits from Medicaid.
Medicaid is a key factor for American citizens, especially when it provides health insurance to low-income Americans who qualify for it. CNN shares that “More than 72 million of people have health insurance through Medicaid – that’s more than one in five Americans. It covers children, senior citizens, people with disabilities, parents and adults without dependents.”
This information should be of importance, considering nursing homes are in fear that Medicaid funding might collapse as Congress moves forward with the Republican budget resolution bill.
Linda Couch, Senior Vice President of Policy at LeadingAge, one of the largest advocacy groups for not-for-profit aging services like nursing homes, had much to share about this Act. Couch states, “We are concerned that all Medicaid-reduction policy proposals will shift costs to states, which in turn will effectively cut services or rates – regardless of some members of Congress’ reassurance of no cuts to services or individuals.”
It should be noted that, on average, Medicaid payment rates only covered nearly 40% of Nursing Homes. According to Skilled Nursing News, “Access to nursing home care has also declined in recent years, as more than 775 nursing homes have closed, nearly half have had to limit admissions, and 20% have had to downsize.” Therefore, cutting Medicaid funding will make it harder for these nursing homes to continue operating or accepting residents.
Couch continues to share her thoughts. She says, “No matter how cuts are implemented at the federal level, the impact on older adults who need care and on our nonprofit, mission-driven nursing home members who provide it, would be significant.”
Importantly, on the day of the voting, U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen had to attend and cast her vote in person, as Republicans denied her the ability to vote remotely after she had just given birth to her son.
Sam Petterson shares in a tweet why giving birth didn’t prevent her from casting her vote ‘NO’ on the proposal. She states, “They want to rip away health care from 400,000 CO kids, take food off the plates of seniors & veterans, and make life more expensive for hardworking Coloradans – all so they can give tax breaks to corporations and billionaires like Elon Musk.”
But Democrats haven’t been the only ones showcasing their distaste for this act. On Feb. 23, a lady peacefully sitting at a Republican town hall in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, was forcibly removed for speaking out against possible Medicaid fund cuts. NBC News shared the video through TikTok, which has gathered fear about freedom of speech among viewers.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex shares this budget plan has a simple math issue. She goes on to say, “An $880 Billion cut is an attack on Medicaid, not ‘waste,’ ‘fraud,’ and ‘abuse.'”
To add, The Democrats’ Twitter account shared a photo of the Republicans who voted to cut Medicaid. The post quickly went viral, sparking widespread debate across social media.
The future of Medicaid is still in doubt, yet the passing of this resolution makes its gutting easier.