GOP must cut Medicare and Medicaid to meet budget target – Washington Examiner
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has indicated that House Republicans must significantly reduce funding for Medicare and Medicaid to meet their budget target of an $880 billion cut. In a recent budget plan, House Republicans assigned the Energy and Commerce Committee, which manages healthcare spending, the task of achieving these cuts.However, the CBO clarified in a letter that the committee oversees onyl $581 billion in spending outside of these healthcare programs, leaving a $299 billion gap short of the targeted cuts.
The CBO’s assessment could complicate the Republicans’ budget proposals, which narrowly passed amidst tensions between hardline conservatives and moderate members. These programs, notably popular among voters, could face potential backlash. While former President Trump advocated for the protection of benefits for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged that Medicaid could be subject to cuts, citing concerns over waste in the program. Over 60 million Americans depend on these critical safety net programs for healthcare and financial support.
GOP must cut Medicare and Medicaid to meet budget target: Congressional Budget Office
Republicans will not be able to meet their budget target without making large cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, the Congressional Budget Office said.
In a budget blueprint adopted last week, House Republicans instructed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is responsible for federal healthcare spending, to cut funding by $880 billion.
However, the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan in-house think tank that oversees the process, said in a letter outlining the funding figures that the committee only oversees a total of $581 billion in spending apart from Medicare and Medicaid. Even if they cut everything they oversee besides those programs, the cuts would still come $299 billion short of the $880 billion target.
When just Medicare is set aside, the total funding under the committee’s jurisdiction is $8.8 trillion over 10 years. Medicaid accounts for $8.2 trillion of that, or 93%.
This could derail Republicans’ cost-cutting plans in the narrowly divided House. Their budget proposal passed by a slim margin after prolonged negotiations between hard-line conservatives pushing for deeper cuts and swing-district Republicans worried about voter backlash over reductions to popular insurance programs.
The letter outlining the figures was sent in response to inquiries from Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who is the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Brendan Boyle (D-PA), who is the ranking member of the Budget Committee.
“This letter from CBO confirms what we’ve been saying all along: The math doesn’t work without devastating Medicaid cuts,” Pallone said Wednesday in a statement. “Republicans know their spin is a lie, and the truth is they have no problem taking health care away from millions of Americans so that the rich can get richer and pay less in taxes than they already do.”
Trump has said the GOP should not cut benefits for Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. Those three are the largest social safety net programs in the government, which together accounted for roughly $3.2 trillion of the country’s $6.75 trillion of total spending in fiscal 2024. The president did not mention these items during his joint address to Congress earlier this week.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has countered the president and said Medicaid is on the table for spending cuts. Earlier this week, he said, “Medicaid is hugely problematic,” and repeated the Trump administration’s claim that there is rampant “waste, fraud, and abuse” in the federal government.
More than 60 million rely on each program for medical coverage, retirement funds, and unemployment funds due to disability.
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