Senate Republicans On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s massive tax and expenditure package, “a large bill,” paved the way for major reforms to the country’s Medicaid program. If the house passes, this could happen before the July 4 holiday, millions of people will lose their health insurance.
From 2013 to 2023, the number of people without health insurance in the United States has almost halved, from about 14% to a minimum of less than 8%, driven in large part by the expansion of coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This rate has remained stable over the past few years, with about 26 million people in the United States currently without health insurance.
But the passage of the Republican budget bill into Congress could lead to a surge in these numbers, adding millions of people. From the end of June, a review by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that Medicaid cuts nearly $1 trillion in coverage by 2034, by 2034, nearly 12 million Americans. (The legislation can still undergo last-minute changes before it is passed.)
“Slashing federal health care spending at this scale could have consequences for hospitals and could lead to some people layoffs, provide fewer services or complete closures. Most importantly, nearly 12 million people are expected to lose health insurance, and many will have a hard time providing the care they need.
The White House said the cuts would help “waste, fraud and abuse in government programs to protect and protect the people they rely on them most.”
One way the bill limits access to coverage is to impose job requirements for Medicaid, which provides health coverage for 72 million Americans with low income and disabilities. People have never had federal job requirements for Medicaid benefits (judging only one person’s income and disability status), and most adults in the program are already working or are looking for a job.
Under the bill, adults must work 80 hours a month or participate in admissions voluntarily. People with disabilities and pregnant people will be eligible for exemptions, and the Senate-passed version will allow parents with children under 14 to apply for exemptions. The home version will allow parents of all dependent children to do so.
Deborah Greenhouse, a South Carolina pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, is concerned that parents browse in the new exemption system. “This bill will cause a catastrophic disaster for Medicaid children,” she said. It could impose bureaucratic traditional tape festivals on those eligible for exemptions, and some parents may not be able to meet job requirements if there are older children with special needs.
