Edward Henderson | California Black Media
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are fighting over whether they should slash Medicaid funding (known as Medi-Cal in California) — and by how much. The cuts are critical to achieving a $1.5 trillion federal budget reduction the GOP-led House already approved in a February resolution.
If implemented, the cuts to Medicaid will be the largest drawdown in the program’s history.
The budget resolution to slash at least $880 billion through 2034 in Medicaid, nutrition programs and health care programs, including some funding for nursing homes, was proposed to the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee in late February.
Congress could vote on the measure as early as this week.
Of the almost one in four Americans enrolled in the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which includes low-income households, senior citizens, pregnant women and people with disabilities, the measure could eliminate coverage for 15.9 million people, according to data compiled by the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning but non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C.
A California Health Care Foundation report states that $100 billion of Medi-Cal’s $160 billion budget comprises federal funds.
“House Republicans passed a budget proposal that would lead to the largest Medicaid cuts in history, taking healthcare away from tens of millions of Americans to fund tax breaks for billionaires like Elon. It has never been clearer that Donald Trump and his Republican Party do not care about the health and well-being of seniors, children, people with disabilities, and working families. However, Democrats do care,” said Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37), reacting to the Republican passage of the budget resolution.
Kamlager-Dove convened a roundtable discussion at Eisner Health in Los Angeles with patients and healthcare providers to address the local impacts of the proposed Medicaid cuts. Her district has the fourth highest Medicaid enrollment in the nation.
“Democrats are fighting to protect Medicaid because it helps everyone, including those in both red and blue districts. Defending and improving this vital program should never be a partisan issue — it’s about preserving healthcare in our country,” Kamlager-Dove continued.
The Medi-Cal program insures 14.9 million people, more than one-third of the state’s population.
Nine Republicans are a part of California’s delegation to the United States Congress, representing 2.5 million Medi-Cal enrollees. All nine of them voted to approve the House GOP budget bill.
Approximately 72.1 million Americans are currently enrolled in Medicaid and 7.2 million in CHIP — including over 13 million African Americans.
Opponents of the cuts predict that they would pose a number of problems — not only for states, but also for the people covered by Medicaid and the hospitals and physicians that provide services.
Among plans under consideration to implement the cuts are initiating work requirements for adults without disabilities and young children and beginning continual monitoring of eligibility. This would limit states’ abilities to tax providers for their share of Medicaid revenues and reduce the amount the federal government matches for state Medicaid expansion.
On April 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation approving $2.8 billion to cover this year’s Medi-Cal funding gap, after taking out a $3.44 billion loan to pay bills. It is unclear how much the state will set aside to help make up the difference if the proposed Medicaid cuts pass.
“California will continue to work collaboratively with our federal partners to ensure that families in our state are healthy, and our communities are vibrant places to live and work,” said Anthony Cava, media relations manager at the California Department of Health Care Services.
State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-Santee) blasted Newsom and his Democratic colleagues for approving the funding, which will benefit all state residents, even those without legal status.
“Meanwhile, healthcare access is plummeting. Wait times are growing. Democrats have made their choice: legal residents come second,” Jones wrote on X. “We must stop new enrollments of illegal immigrants and rein in this unsustainable program before it collapses entirely.”
The California Budget and Policy Center has recommended that “state policymakers should prioritize identifying new, sustainable sources of revenue to safeguard health care access for millions,” in a recent fact sheet they released on the subject. They also recommend that policymakers close tax loopholes that benefit corporations and the wealthy.
