Amid extensive budget discussions, deliberations, and debates and a strong desire among many in Congress to reduce federal spending, lawmakers still have not decided how much to cut one of their primary spending targets: Medicaid.
Will the cuts be marginal or major? Adopted easily or narrowly? Implemented quickly or over time?
The future of Medicaid and Medicaid spending has been widely chronicled in recent days. For a closer look at the stakes and what might occur in the coming days, see the following resources:
- KFF Health News: “Can Medicaid’s Popularity Shield It From the Budget Ax?”
- KFF Health News: “Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe” (podcast)
- KFF Health News: “GOP Takes Aim at Medicaid, Putting Enrollees and Providers at Risk”
- Politico: “Republicans’ plans for Medicaid have a political problem”
- Politico: “House Republicans scramble for Plan B on Medicaid cuts”
- Urban Institute: “Reducing Federal Support for Medicaid Expansion Would Shift Costs to States and Likely Result in Coverage Losses”
- Becker’s Payer Issues: “The states that would be the hardest hit by Medicaid cuts”
- Politico Pro: Budget won’t be changed to address Medicaid concerns, Johnson says” (password required)
- Politico Pro: “Where the Medicaid fight stands” (password required)
The stakes in the Medicaid debate are especially great for community safety-net hospitals, which care for larger numbers and higher proportions of low-income patients, including many covered by Medicaid. Any reduction in Medicaid enrollment, benefits, or payments would hurt community safety-net hospitals, most of which are already in precarious financial condition, and jeopardize their continued ability to meet the needs of their communities.
