Congress is due to vote on a bill that some have warned could result in hundreds of billions of dollars of funding being wiped from Medicaid.
Why It Matters
About 24 percent of people in the U.S. are enrolled in Medicaid, according to an estimate from NYU Langone Health. As of October last year, more than 72 million people across the country held Medicaid coverage, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
What to Know
Potential cuts to mandatory funding programs like Medicaid, Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) threaten a key vote that Speaker Mike Johnson wants to see put through the lower chamber this week.
Johnson's budget plan includes potentially $880 billion in spending cuts from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, and $230 billion from the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees SNAP, over the next decade.
The plan is not without its detractors - Democrats are expected to vote in unison against the bill. But a handful of Republicans in states with high numbers of Medicaid enrollees are reportedly uneasy about backing the sweeping spending agenda. Advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers have also urged the public to contact their representatives and ask them to oppose the bill.
Social Security Works, a group that campaigns for the preservation of benefits and health care, said the budget would "destroy Medicaid."
Johnson has said that the bill is a "merely a starting point" for the budget process and outlined that Medicaid is not being specifically targeted.
While the resolution does not target Medicaid by name, Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former GOP Senate Budget Committee staffer, told Politico: "The bulk of these cuts would have to be in Medicaid, and that's why they're not going to get the requisite votes they need to get it passed with the margins that they have right now. Leaders are going to have a lot of difficulty getting the votes to pass this resolution."
Eight House Republicans, including California's David Valadao and New York's Nicole Malliotakis, both members of the Hispanic Conference and representing districts with large Hispanic populations, penned a warning letter to Johnson earlier this month that "slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities."
Under the assumption that all Democrats will vote against Johnson's resolution, Republicans can afford to lose just three votes with their narrow 218-215 majority in the House.
What People Are Saying
Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday, February 24: "Look, everybody needs to understand that the resolution is merely the starting point for the process. So there's nothing specific about Medicaid in the resolution. The legislation comes later, so this is the important first start."
Social Security Works in a post on X on February 24: "Congress is about to vote on a Republican budget that would destroy Medicaid. These 17 House Republicans won by fewer votes than the number of people they want to steal health care from. We are sending billboards to their districts to demand they vote NO on the budget."
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said on X: "Heading back to DC to oppose the Republican budget scheme that will slash and burn Medicaid benefits. There are 215 Democrats in the House. We only need three Republicans to do the right thing and Medicaid will be saved."
Former Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on X on Monday: "Looks like tomorrow will bring votes on a Republican plan to fund tax cuts for the rich by slashing Medicaid. So this is a great time to contact your Member of Congress."
What's Next
The budget vote could come as early as Tuesday, February 25, with Johnson having said he wants the vote to take place this week.
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