President Trump made it clear that he would investigate government spending to expose the mismanagement of tax dollars and continue supporting his narrative that the democratic government was taking advantage of US citizens and their hard work. During the investigation, Trump determined that health coverage was too expensive, and it seems Congress agreed.
The House passed its budget proposal on Feb. 25, calling for an overall $2 trillion in spending cuts. The proposal also allows for $4.5 trillion in spending for tax cuts—which advocates say benefit only the wealthy—and raises the debt ceiling by $4.5 trillion. The Senate is expected to put through its proposal in April. After that, the House and Senate will go through a budget reconciliation process to agree on proposed cuts and spending.
“These are the worst cuts to Medicaid in the history of the program,” said Stan Dorn, director of the Health Policy Project at UnidosUS. “These huge budget cuts pay for tax breaks that primarily benefit the wealthy. We’re cutting health care services and food for working-class people so that billionaires can buy more yachts and jewelry,” he said in an interview with Ethnic Media Services.
The proposed cuts would disproportionately impact Latino and Black families, noted the report. More than 20 million Latinos and 13 million Black people rely on Medicaid. According to the report, 31 million children are covered by Medicaid through the Children’s Health Insurance Program. More than half of Latino kids are covered by the program, and 60 percent of Black children are also enrolled. In California, Medicaid—considered Medi-Cal—covers all state residents, including undocumented people. Nationwide, 1 out of 5 people and 1 out of every 3 children are covered by Medicaid, according to data from the California Health Care Foundation.
“We know that when you take health care away from children, the effects last a lifetime. Health problems are more likely in adulthood. People are less able to support themselves and more likely to turn to public assistance,” said Dorn. “Researchers tell us that every dollar invested in children’s health results in a $4 savings to taxpayers. So even if you care nothing about human beings and only about dollars and cents, you don’t want to make these cuts,” he stated.
People who lose their Medicaid coverage will not be able to easily transition to coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, noted Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA. ACA coverage is expensive—about $10,000 to $12,000 annually for a family. “These are low-income, working families. The idea that they can afford private health coverage is not feasible,” he said.
Community Health Clinics (CHCs) can provide a short-term safety net to people who lose Medicaid coverage: CHCs accept people without health insurance. “However, if big Medicaid cuts go through, that is going to devastate community health centers because they rely on Medicaid to furnish a huge part of their revenue,” said Dorn, noting that if revenue goes down, CHCs will be forced to offer fewer services or shut down entirely.
Eleven civil rights organizations jointly released a report on the impact of a proposed $800 billion cut to Medicaid, which would put at risk health care coverage for 70 million Americans.
