Republicans Put Health Care for 70 Million Americans in Jeopardy in Order to Fund Tax Breaks for Billionaires and Big Corporations
Republicans are ramping up their threats on health care for more than 70 million Americans as they negotiate a forthcoming budget reconciliation package. Donald Trump and his allies in Congress are not hiding their extreme plans to gut Medicaid, which are featured in their policy priorities for 2025. Instead of protecting health care for millions of families who count on it, Republicans want to give more tax breaks to billionaires. Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, and the consequences of any cuts to Medicaid would touch nearly every household in America. Every community has someone who counts on Medicaid: children, new moms, seniors, and working people who don’t receive health insurance through their employer.
HEADLINES
KFF Health News: Trump’s Return Puts Medicaid on the Chopping Block.
- “House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) told KFF Health News that Medicaid and other federal entitlement programs need major changes to help cut the federal debt. ‘Without them, we will watch this country sadly enter into fiscal collapse.’ Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the Budget Committee, said Congress needs to explore cutting federal spending on Medicaid. ‘You need wholesale reform on the health care front, which can include undoing a lot of the damage being done by the ACA and Obamacare,’ Roy said. ‘Frankly, we could end up providing better service if we do it the right way.’”
HuffPost: Big Cuts To Medicaid Reportedly On The Menu For House Republicans
- “Republicans have long called for these sorts of changes, arguing that government-financed health care programs are wasteful, put excessive drain on taxpayers and ultimately do more harm than good ― even for people in need… But those arguments have rarely proven persuasive, thanks in no small part to independent projections showing consistently that enacting such policies would effectively strip millions ― maybe even tens of millions ― of Americans of their health insurance.”
Politico: House GOP Puts Medicaid, ACA, Climate Measures on Chopping Block.
- “Cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and the country’s largest anti-hunger program would spark massive opposition from Democrats and would also face some GOP resistance. House Speaker Mike Johnson can’t afford any Republican defections if he wants to pass a package on party lines… The policy menu suggests Republicans could capture major savings from Medicaid — up to an estimated $2.3 trillion. The list includes so-called per-capita caps on Medicaid for states, meaning the program would be paid for based on population instead of being an open-ended entitlement, and would institute work requirements in the program.”
Common Dreams: ‘Republicans Are Gearing Up for Class War,’ Democrat Warns as GOP Pursues Huge Medicaid Cuts.
- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warned in an analysis published last week that cuts to federal funding under a per-capita cap “would impose significant strain on states and put millions of people at risk of losing benefits and coverage.”
New Republic: Republicans Plan Deadly Cuts to Government as L.A. Fires Spread.
- The GOP is aiming to cut $5.7 trillion from the budget over the next 10 years, and is considering cuts to important government services like welfare, climate protections, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act to get there. They then want to use that money to pay for Trump’s draconian immigration plans and tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, according to Politico.
- “The Republican ‘menu’ cuts food and health care for low income people to put more money in the pockets of the rich,” said Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff to Representative Don Beyer. “Even the item names are dystopian: $490B Medicare cut= ‘Strengthen Medicare For Seniors.’ Cutting food for low income people= ‘Ending Cradle-To-Grave Dependence.”
VA Dogwood: US House Republicans Want to Cut Medicaid. Why That’s Bad News for Virginia.
- Cutting Medicaid funding and taking away the health care of tens of millions of struggling Americans in the process has long been a Republican goal. Now that Republicans have control of Congress and regained the White House this fall, the threat is even more real for the nearly 2 million people in Virginia on Medicaid.
- If this trigger law were to go into effect today, it would threaten the health care of more than 600,000 people in Virginia, according to The Commonwealth Institute, a Richmond-based nonpartisan research nonprofit.
STATEMENTS
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR): “I will be straightforward about what this plan means. Republicans are gearing up for a class war against everyday families in America. This list outlines a plan to increase child hunger, boot tens of millions off their health insurance and lay off hundreds of thousands of clean energy workers to fund tax handouts for the wealthy. It won’t be any consolation to struggling Americans that their hardship allows some rich buddy of Donald Trump’s to buy a bigger yacht.” [Press Release, 1/10/25]
Senate Finance Committee Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “This analysis confirms that working people should be on high alert for Trump’s tax plan that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthy. Republicans in Congress are already scheming how to pay for these billionaire handouts with painful cuts to health care services like Medicaid.” [X, 1/10/25]
Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT): “When Trump talks about Canada or Greenland or Panama it’s just clickbait distraction so we don’t pay attention to his central goal – passing a massive tax cut for his billionaire and corporate friends and paying for it by slashing Medicare and Medicaid.” [X, 1/10/25]
Senator Peter Welch (D-VT): “More Americans than ever before signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year. This isn’t the time for Republicans to make cuts. We need to work together to expand and build on this vital care program that 45 million Americans rely on.” [X, 1/09/25]
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03): “House Republicans are ready to take $5.7 TRILLION from Medicaid, Medicare, the ACA, SNAP, and climate programs—and give it to greedy billionaires and corporations. This plan would jeopardize the health and wealth of millions of Americans.” [X, 1/10/25]
Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY-12): “Imposing work requirements for Medicaid is not just misguided—it’s cruel. In practice, it fails to create jobs and strips essential healthcare from vulnerable individuals. This isn’t uplifting low-income Americans and forgotten communities; it’s punishing them.” [X, 1/10/25]
Representative Mike Levin (D-CA-49): “House Republicans are back to threatening cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. This won’t lower costs for Americans. These cuts would only help bankroll Trump’s tax cuts for his billionaire friends and corporate interests.” [X, 1/11/25]