It’s official: the Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearings in the Senate Finance and HELP committees demonstrated that he has no idea how the key federal programs he will be overseeing even work – much less what and who they cover. With Trump and Republicans in Congress pushing to put health care at risk for the 72 million people who rely on Medicaid in order to provide tax breaks for their billionaire friends, it’s more important than ever that our new HHS Secretary knows exactly what’s at stake:
WHO IS COVERED UNDER MEDICAID?
- Around 21 percent of Americans, or 72 million people, are covered under Medicaid including:
- Nearly half of all children, 31.5 million, in the United States
- Around 15 million people with disabilities
- 8.3 million seniors
- 16.6 million working adults
- 36.9 million non-elderly Americans of color
- 52.4 million women
- Medicaid pays for over 63 percent of residents in nursing homes. 5.6 million Americans count on Medicaid for their long-term care bills, and Medicaid pays for over half of the long-term care in the U.S.
- Medicaid covers 41 percent of all births and reduces maternal mortality rates. Medicaid paid for 1.5 million births in 2023.
- 14 million adults with mental illness count on Medicaid for treatment.
- Over 12 million rural Americans rely on Medicaid for health care.
- Rural hospitals in Medicaid expansion states are 62 percent less likely to close.
WHO DO REPUBLICANS WANT TO TAKE HEALTH CARE FROM?
- If Republicans decrease federal funding for people in the Medicaid expansion population, it would quickly rip health care away from 4 million Americans across twelve states and jeopardize health care for about 21 million people.
- Republicans will create at least a $50 billion hole in state Medicaid budgets to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.
- Republicans threaten care for 18.5 million people with Medicaid by imposing lifetime caps.
- Republicans could deny coverage to 36 million Americans through burdensome bureaucratic reporting requirements.
- In 2024, over 700 rural hospitals were at risk of closing in the near future, almost all of which were within non-expansion states. If Republicans cut Medicaid expansion, rural hospitals could be at risk.