The idea of drastically reducing Medicaid funding has sparked intense debate in Congress, with both parties accusing each other of deception. Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democrats in the House, contended on February 27 that the proposed Republican budget plan would lead to the most significant reduction in Medicaid funding in history and that Republicans are deliberately concealing the repercussions. Jeffries stated, “The Republicans are lying to the American people about Medicaid… I can’t say it any other way. Republicans are lying. Prove me wrong.”
However, Republicans argue that the Democrats are distorting the Republican budget proposal. Congressman Steve Scalise claimed that the term “Medicaid” is not even mentioned in the bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed this sentiment on CNN, asserting that Republicans have no intention of cutting Medicaid and accusing Democrats of spreading falsehoods.
The Republicans are seeking to identify substantial budget savings to extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. This is a separate issue from Congress’s need to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government operational by Friday, or else face a shutdown.
The House Republican budget plan adopted on February 25 opens the possibility of substantial cuts, although it does not explicitly mention Medicaid. The plan instructs the House Energy and Commerce Committee to explore ways to cut the deficit by at least $880 billion over the next decade. This committee oversees Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), among other smaller programs.
It is not feasible for the committee to achieve such significant cuts without affecting Medicaid, as it makes up most of the funding under the committee’s jurisdiction after setting aside Medicare. Experts have pointed out that even if the committee eliminates all other programs, it would still fall short of the target savings of $880 billion without cutting Medicaid.
However, the $880 billion cut is not final, as Senate Republicans are taking a different approach and have not proposed such drastic reductions. Senators like Josh Hawley have expressed opposition to severe cuts to Medicaid.
Furthermore, eliminating fraud within Medicaid would not solve the problem, as improper payments can involve errors in amounts or documentation, not necessarily fraud. Even if fraud is addressed, it would only account for a fraction of the potential $880 billion in cuts.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/12/can-house-republicans-cut-880bn-without-slashing-medicaid?traffic_source=rss
