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A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that major cuts to Medicaid proposed by Republicans would remove millions of enrollees from the program.
Republicans have repeatedly claimed that the cuts they’ve proposed would only target supposedly wasteful spending and abuse of Medicaid, which is funded jointly by states and the federal government. But the new report undermines that notion, demonstrating that defunding Medicaid at the levels proposed by far right lawmakers would harm people dependent on the program.
Medicaid covers health care costs for more than 70 million people with limited incomes in the U.S. Republicans are considering cuts to Medicaid funding to the tune of $880 billion, and are planning to use the funds to cover the $5 trillion in tax cuts being pushed by President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and other Republican lawmakers have repeatedly claimed that the spending cuts would not harm people who are enrolled in Medicaid.
“We have to root out fraud, waste and abuse,” Johnson said in a recent Fox News interview.
But the CBO analysis found that some of the cuts being proposed would result in around 5.5 million Medicaid recipients losing their benefits — roughly 1 in every 13 individuals who benefit from the program. Of that total, around half would be left without any option for health care coverage after losing access to Medicaid, the CBO report found.
Democratic lawmakers responded to the report by condemning Republicans for promoting disinformation regarding the proposed cuts.
“Trump has repeatedly claimed Republicans are not cutting health care, but CBO’s independent analysis confirms the proposals under consideration will result in catastrophic benefit cuts and people losing their health care,” Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-New Jersey), ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, echoed Pallone’s views, stating:
This analysis from the non-partisan, independent CBO is straightforward: the Republican plan for health care means benefit cuts and terminated health insurance for millions of Americans who count on Medicaid. Republicans continue to use smoke and mirrors to try to trick Americans into thinking they aren’t going to hurt anybody when they proceed with this reckless plan, but fighting reality is an uphill battle. The bottom line is that the Republican bill is going to cut health care for kids, seniors, Americans with disabilities and working families.
Moderate Republicans — particularly those from “purple” districts, who could face strong competition from Democrats in the 2026 midterms — have been reluctant to support a bill that includes enormous cuts to Medicaid.
“My neighbors, people my kids go to school with” depend on Medicaid, Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Arizona) recently said.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), who represents much of Omaha, Nebraska, also said he couldn’t sign on to the $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid that hardliners of his party are demanding. However, he did indicate that he would support as much as $500 billion in reductions to the program, along with more eligibility checks and work requirements.
Getting a bill passed will be difficult, as Republicans can only afford to lose four votes in the House of Representatives. Even if Republicans use the reconciliation process to avoid a filibuster in the Senate, they can only afford to lose four votes in that chamber as well.
Notably, Medicaid cuts of any size are largely opposed by the American public.
A KFF poll from earlier this month found that 76 percent of Americans oppose cuts to Medicaid. That’s consistent with polling that was conducted in March, which found that a combined 82 percent of Americans said they wanted Medicaid spending to be increased or kept the same, while just 17 percent of respondents said they wanted it reduced.
Even among those who said they supported cuts to Medicaid, just half said they wanted “a lot” of cuts to the program, while an equal proportion said they only wanted small cuts.
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