Washington — A nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis sent to lawmakers this week found that budget goals outlined in a House GOP plan could not be met without reducing Medicaid spending, contradicting Republicans’ pledges not to cut the popular entitlement program.
Last week, House Republicans approved a budget proposal that serves as a blueprint for implementing President Trump’s agenda.
The resolution must be adopted by the Senate before the chambers can proceed with the budget reconciliation process, which is a complicated maneuver that allows Congress to avoid the Senate’s typical 60-vote threshold.
However, opponents of the resolution have warned that the proposed cuts would jeopardize key programs on which Americans rely, concerns that the CBO analysis supported.
Republicans propose cutting at least $1.5 trillion in spending over ten years to pay for trillions in tax cuts, while increasing funding in some areas.
The budget resolution directs congressional committees to develop their own proposals to meet spending targets, increasing or decreasing funding by adjusting programs and policies within their purview.
The Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, has been tasked with identifying at least $880 billion in cuts over the next decade.
A pair of House Democrats asked the CBO for projected mandatory spending on programs under the committee’s jurisdiction, excluding Medicare, which provides health insurance to seniors. Medicaid is a government-sponsored health care program for low-income Americans, with costs shared between the federal government and the states.
The CBO discovered that Medicaid accounts for 93% of all remaining non-Medicare mandatory spending, with $581 billion allocated to other programs. That means the committee couldn’t meet its $880 billion goal without affecting the program. Republican leaders have not proposed cutting Medicare, leaving Medicaid as the potential source of cuts.
House Republican leaders have emphasized that Medicaid is not specifically mentioned in the budget resolution and that benefits will not be reduced, noting that last week’s vote was only to begin the reconciliation process.
However, Republicans have stated that they intend to eliminate “fraud, waste, and abuse” from the program, and many members support work requirements that may limit eligibility for benefits. Other Republican lawmakers have expressed concern about reducing the program’s funding, citing the fact that many of their constituents and voters rely on it.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated on Thursday that the CBO findings “confirmed what we have long understood to be the case with the reckless Republican budget.”
“Republicans are trying to rip healthcare away from tens of millions of Americans,” the New York Democrat said, vowing that “every single Democrat” will oppose the House proposal.
