Congressional Republicans’ and Trump-endorsed plan would slash Medicaid, threaten to rip away care for children, elderly, and rural communities
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led six of her colleagues in calling out President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ plans to slash Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the super wealthy and billionaires. Medicaid is a lifeline that helps rural hospitals keep their doors open and provides health care to 72 million Americans, including over 8 million seniors and over 30 million kids.
“Republicans have admitted all along it’s their plan to cut Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. It’s flat-out wrong. Americans want us to lower the cost of their health care, not rip it away from Americans with disabilities, seniors in long-term care, and poor kids,” said Senator Baldwin. “Donald Trump promised to lower costs for American families. He lied. Now he is going to kick grandmothers out of nursing homes and kids off their health care, going against the wishes of the over 70 percent of Americans who want Medicaid protected, including the majority of Republicans.”
Republicans are planning deep cuts to Medicaid that will jeopardize the coverage of 72 million Americans, or 1 in 5 people living in the United States who use Medicaid. This includes nearly half of all children, 31.5 million, over 8.3 million seniors, and around 15 million people with disabilities. Medicaid also pays for 6 out of 10 of residents in nursing homes, with 5.6 million Americans counting on Medicaid for their long-term care bills and Medicaid paying for over half of long-term care in the United States. Severe cuts to Medicaid will also jeopardize rural hospitals and clinics’ ability to keep their doors open. Over 12 million rural Americans rely on Medicaid for health care.
In Wisconsin, over 1.2 million are enrolled in Medicaid. About 1 in 3 children in Wisconsin’s rural and metro communities have Medicaid coverage. More than 300,000 kids under age 19 are members of BadgerCare Plus or another Wisconsin Medicaid program.
Republicans released a budget blueprint that directed the committee with jurisdiction over Medicaid to find $880 billion in cuts for their upcoming budget to pay for tax breaks for the super-wealthy and large corporations. Today, President Trump endorsed that blueprint. As Republicans move forward with their legislation, their plans to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid will jeopardize care for individuals with autism, seniors seeking long-term care, low- and middle-class children, and Americans who rely on rural hospitals.
A full recording of the press conference is available here.
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