The first full fiscal year budget from President Donald Trump is expected May 23 and will bank on more than $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid funding as included in the American Health Care Act (AHCA).
As confirmed by CNN, the reduction assumes the Affordable Care Act replacement passed by the House earlier in May will become law. The cuts would come from ending the enhanced federal funding for the ACA’s Medicaid expansion by 2020, not allowing any other states to expand Medicaid, and reducing overall funding by changing the program to a block grant or fixed amount based on the number of enrollees.
Overall, the bill would slash Medicaid funding by 25 percent by 2026 compared to current law, shifting more of financial responsibility to state governments. It’s not a done deal yet, as Republican senators from states which expanded Medicaid have been focusing on protecting that funding, at least temporarily, in their own version of the AHCA.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.