Yesterday, President Trump released his budget that includes $1 trillion in cuts from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, further escalating his war on Americans’ health care. He also proposed reducing Medicare spending by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade. Press reports quickly pointed out that these deep cuts to health care will leave vulnerable populations at further risk and are the opposite of what President Trump promised in his 2016 campaign for the White House.
New York Times: In Trump’s Budget, Big Health Care Cuts But Few Details. “The deep cuts enshrined in the budget’s numbers are not consistent with modest tweaks. Taken together with Medicaid changes recommended elsewhere in the budget, the proposal would strip about $1 trillion out of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies, the two pillars of the law’s expansion of insurance coverage.” [New York Times, 2/10/20]
New York Times: Trump’s $4.8 Trillion Budget Would Cut Safety Net Programs And Boost Defense. “All together, it proposed combined cuts to spending in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies that equal a trillion dollars — cuts that would mean substantial program changes.” [New York Times, 2/10/20]
Washington Post: Trump Proposes $4.8 Trillion Election-Year Budget With Big Domestic Cuts. “The budget cuts Medicaid spending by about $920 billion over 10 years, a change Democrats and administration critics warn would lead to reductions in benefits and the number of people on the health care program…‘This is a budget that would cause many millions of people to lose health care coverage. That is unambiguous,’ said Aviva Aron-Dine, a former Obama official and vice president at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think-tank.” [Washington Post, 2/10/20]
Associated Press: Mystery $844B Pot In Trump Budget Signals Medicaid Cuts. “President Donald Trump’s budget contains an $844 billion mystery pot for his still undefined health care plan, signaling steep cuts to Medicaid and ‘Obamacare.’” [Associated Press, 2/10/20]
Washington Post: Trump Budget Cuts Funding For Health, Science, Environment Agencies. “Medicaid, the safety-net insurance for low-income Americans, would receive nearly $920 billion less than otherwise anticipated by 2030 as federal health officials encourage states to create work requirements and tighten eligibility checks…for Medicare, the federal insurance for older and disabled Americans, the plan would curb spending by $480 billion over the decade, primarily through proposed cuts in payments to doctors and hospitals.” [Washington Post, 2/10/20]
Wall Street Journal: Trump Proposes $4.8 Trillion Budget, With Cuts to Safety Nets. “In campaigning for the White House Mr. Trump had promised voters he would protect funding for Medicare and Medicaid. His new budget’s proposals to wring savings through changes to those programs reflect longstanding GOP efforts to reduce federal safety-net spending…” [Wall Street Journal, 2/10/20]
Axios: Hospitals And Medicaid Enrollees Lose Under Trump’s Budget. “President Trump’s 2021 budget proposes massive reductions in Medicare and Medicaid spending, which would be felt most acutely by hospitals and Medicaid beneficiaries…the budget isn’t entirely theoretical; the administration is moving full steam ahead on some of its Medicaid proposals — like work requirements and block grants — and is still hoping to notch a victory on prescription drug prices before the election…the budget would reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending by hundreds of billions of dollars each over the next decade.” [Axios, 2/11/20]
Vox: Trump Vowed To Not Cut Social Security And Medicare — Hours Before Proposing Just That. “That Trump is proposing cuts to these programs isn’t surprising — his 2020 budget cut all three as well. It’s a long-running contradiction for the president. He often says he won’t touch these entitlement programs, but he’s continued to employ Republican Party officials who make cutting these programs center to their work.” [Vox, 2/10/20]