Special Poll
Republican Leaders Minimize Medicaid Cuts While Pursuing $2 Trillion in Savings
House Republican leaders are downplaying concerns about potential Medicaid cuts as they push forward with a budget plan aimed at saving up to $2 trillion.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) sought to reassure both the public and members of their own party that any Medicaid changes being discussed are focused on work requirements and fraud reduction, rather than significant reductions in funding. They emphasized that proposals do not include lowering the federal contribution to states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, nor do they involve imposing a per capita cap on funding.
Republicans are currently debating how much they need to cut to finance an extension of Trump-era tax cuts and increase border security funding. At the center of this discussion is Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health coverage for over 72 million low-income Americans. Many conservatives believe the program is burdened by fraud and inefficiencies, and they have long sought to limit its spending.
Efforts to reduce Medicaid funding were previously included in the attempt to repeal ObamaCare during Trump’s first term, but that effort failed. The controversy over proposed cuts was widely seen as a factor in Republicans losing their House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.
However, with control of Congress and the White House following the 2024 election, Republicans are making another attempt at Medicaid reform.
“Look, Medicaid has never been on the chopping block,” Johnson stated during a press conference. “If you eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid, you’ve got a huge amount of money that you can spend on real priorities for the country.”
The debate over Medicaid cuts is likely to intensify in the coming months as lawmakers determine how to balance fiscal responsibility with political consequences.