Congress Moves to Cut Medicaid

Yesterday, Senate Republicans released a budget resolution that sets the stage for significant program cuts. The House and Senate are still negotiating policy specifics, but Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and SNAP remain under threat.

New Budget Plan Sticks to Fast-Track Timeline but Lacks Specifics

Under pressure from the White House to pass a budget bill by Memorial Day, but at an impasse on the legislation’s scope, Republicans are sidestepping aspects of the typical reconciliation process.

… Republicans are sidestepping aspects of the typical reconciliation process.

The new budget plan is an attempted compromise between the House and Senate. Though both chambers previously advanced their own budget resolutions, they must pass identical versions to unlock the reconciliation process. But they remain far apart on what that eventual bill should look like and how much it should cost. Instead of resolving those differences now and crafting a budget resolution that reflects a unified, bicameral approach, they are moving ahead anyway—an unorthodox strategy to give themselves more time and the White House a “win.”

The concurrent budget resolution reveals the House-Senate divide over the bill’s price tag, assigning different savings targets to each. The Senate committees would only have to find $5 billion, while House committees could keep their larger $1.5 trillion minimum. Typically, these numbers align. In allowing the deviation, lawmakers are theorizing that since reconciliation rules only apply in the Senate, only that chamber needs to meet its targets.

Major Cuts Likely

Notably, the Senate’s levels are floors, not ceilings, meaning lawmakers can cut more than the blueprint requires. They are widely expected to do so, likely yielding a reconciliation bill that is closer in size to the House’s vision. For now, the plan’s lack of detail gives them room to negotiate internally and cover to say they are not gearing up to slash Medicaid, even though the cuts being contemplated are impossible otherwise.

For now, the plan’s lack of detail gives them room to negotiate internally and cover to say they are not gearing up to slash Medicaid, even though the cuts being contemplated are impossible otherwise.

The budget resolution would also make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, using a controversial and untested budget gimmick—the “current policy baseline”—that would not require any offsets. If successful, this would let Republicans swell the federal debt they claim to be trying to reduce. It also includes other spending, authorizing up to $1.5 trillion in additional tax cuts. According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the budget resolution “would allow lawmakers to add up to $5.8 trillion to deficits through 2034” and cause the debt to grow “twice as fast as under current law.”

Take Action Now

The Senate plans to vote on the budget resolution in the coming days, sending it to the House before Congress adjourns for a two-week recess on April 11. If it passes, we expect both chambers to quickly begin drafting reconciliation legislation that could fundamentally undermine access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities.

As lawmakers prepare to vote on the budget resolution, they need to hear from you. Tell them to vote NO and explain how cuts to Medicaid will harm people in your community. Learn more and take action today.

Further Reading

Read more about what has happened so far in the budget process.

Read about how cuts to Medicaid are cuts to Medicare.