Medicaid Cuts in the Budget Bill: A Concern for the Vulnerable

The Senate's newly passed budget bill could have a devastating impact on Medicaid, a shared federal-state health program that provides insurance coverage to over 70 million Americans with low incomes. The bill aims to reduce federal Medicaid spending by an estimated $930 billion over the next decade, a 10% cut from the program's total budget. This reduction is $100 billion more than the cut proposed by the House in May.

Key Takeaways:

• The Senate bill would increase the number of Americans without health insurance by 12 million in 2034, a third of the current 26 million uninsured population.
• The bill would also lead to several million more people losing coverage due to changes to other insurance programs, such as private plans sold on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
• The primary way people would lose coverage is through increased paperwork, including the need to upload documentation to prove eligibility every six months.
• The work requirements in the bill would lead to about half of those who lose their Medicaid coverage doing so because of the inability to navigate the reporting requirements.
• States that have implemented work requirements have found that proving eligibility can be quite difficult, and many eligible people end up having their coverage ended.
• Despite some amendments, the Senate bill still maintains a ban on Medicaid funding for abortion care at Planned Parenthood, which could force the closure of hundreds of clinics providing cancer screenings, contraception, and other medical care.

Statistics:

• $930 billion: The estimated reduction in federal Medicaid spending over the next decade, a 10% cut from the program's total budget.
• 12 million: The estimated increase in the number of Americans without health insurance in 2034 due to the Senate bill.
• 26 million: The current number of Americans with no health insurance, which would increase by 12 million due to the Senate bill.
• 10% increase: The CBO estimate of the number of Medicaid beneficiaries who would fail to report their activities and thus lose their coverage due to the work requirements.

Sources:

• KFF Health News
• Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
• The Senate budget bill (with provisions described)
• Julie Rovner, KFF Health News (interview)