Reconciliation bill President Donald Trump and Republicans are working to pass Congress, which is full of disturbing rules, but tax plans ultimately boil down to massive financial breaks for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of unfortunate social programs that benefit from the most unfortunate, most notably Medicaid.
Trump begged Republicans to pass “Big and Beautiful Bill!” on Friday, writing about how it reduces taxes for “all Americans” (not true) and “kick millions of illegal foreigners out of Medicaid to protect those who really need it” (not true).
Republicans on the House Budget Committee failed to pass the bill hours after Trump posted the message — not because of Medicaid cuts, but because they wanted them to be more extreme. Americans don't want more extreme cuts. There is an absolutely positive public view of Medicaid, and the program has seen a significant cut of up to 76%.
The tax bill that Republicans eventually passed (damn public opinion) would make life even harder for millions of low-income Americans. Here's everything you need to know:
Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance for low-income Americans and for certain people with limited disabilities and other resources. Medicaid is funded by state and federal monetary, and each state conducts its own plans in accordance with federal rules and regulations.
More than one-fifth of the country's population, more than 70 million Americans participate in Medicaid.
Although Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Medicare, not Medicaid, is fully funded by the federal government and provides health insurance for Americans over 65 years of age.
The confusion of the little RFK doesn't necessarily mean that the program is confusing in nature - but it can be certain that it can vary between states.
Republicans plan to cut $880 billion from the Energy and Commerce Commission budget, which oversees Medicaid.
One way Republicans want to cut costs is to limit the “provider tax,” a share of the state used to help pay for Medicaid costs — payments are used to local health care providers such as hospitals and doctors. Rolling stones The industry-wide concern was reported that freezing these payments could force some rural hospitals to close. Republicans also want to cut federal Medicaid funds to states that provide care for undocumented Americans and require Americans at or above the federal poverty level to pay out on out-of-pocket expenses for services that they didn’t have to pay.
But the main way Republicans will cut Medicaid is to wrap it in as many traditional Chinese tape festivals as possible to reduce enrollment.
It has become difficult to obtain and maintain Medicaid coverage, especially for Americans with illness and disabilities. Trump and Republicans want to make it more difficult.
The crux of the cut is what Republicans call "community engagement requirements," which is a great way to say they want to form a series of barriers to coverage that will inevitably lead to Americans being initiated. The bill calls on Americans to prove that they work at least 80 hours a week to qualify. It also requires them to verify their qualifications twice a year.
Medicaid is subject to strict income caps that vary by state, but are enough to say that recipients are not allowed to make enough money to live. By adding job requirements, Republicans are ordering Medicaid recipients to work — but not for too much money. States have checked the recipient’s income levels annually, and for administrative reasons, this process often causes eligible beneficiaries to lose Medicaid coverage, such as their inability to respond to phone calls or emails.
Research shows that job requirements don’t actually add more jobs anyway, partly because Medicaid is already in effect. The Health Policy Group KFF released a study earlier this year that found that in 2023, 92% of adults were working or not working under Medicaid in 2023 due to school, care or disability, while the other 8% retired, were unable to find a job, or were unable to work for other reasons. Republicans are pushing the idea that thousands of Americans sit on the couch, snack on junk food and laugh as they collect free health care, but that is not the case.
The fallacy of Republican speech about job demands is in the case of Luke Seaborn, a 54-year-old Georgia man whose crazy journey to national health care is highlighted by ProPublica. Georgia currently has a job requirement for Medicaid coverage, and the state uses the mechanic Seaborn as one of the faces of the program. Seaborn advocated the use of cameras when introducing the program, but he was activated twice due to bureaucratic obstacles.
"My head exploded," he told Propublica after losing the report for the second time after failing to submit a deadline for the profit and loss statement he didn't know. "I didn't get text messages or emails. I did what I should have done, but that wasn't good enough."
(ProPublica reported on the overall failure of Georgia's Medicaid Job Requirements Program earlier this year.)
The Congressional Budget Office expects 10.3 million Americans will eventually lose health care due to the speed of cuts.
The New York Times Recently published by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Republicans in Congress have been making similar arguments.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) said this week: "We have some real bodies that they really shouldn't be there, or should be able to go to another insurance product that can help them get health insurance." Carter did not explain where these people should be getting health care, although he did say he wanted to "make sure everyone has access to it," which was a touching emotion.
Rep. Dan Crewnshaw (R-Texas) in a serious misrepresentation of the effect of the cut, Rep. Dan Crewnshaw (R-Texas) added: “We took it away from adults who have no children to refuse to work.” “If they just find a job, they keep Medicaid.”
Rep. Greg Murphy (RN.C.) argues that the government needs to raise the bar that constitutes disability. Doctor Murphy specifically complained about his two patients, including a 48-year-old woman, who said it was unpleasant, but he could hear his problems due to her hearing aids. "It's a difficult challenge to overcome, but it's not a reason for someone to be Medicaid, disabled and not work," he said.
Some Republicans seem to understand the reality of Medicaid cuts, which are millions of Americans, including Americans, will lose their health insurance. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) era "Company-Authorited Representatives" in which they criticized the priorities of "company giveaways" and "deep cuts in social insurance".
“Republicans need to open their eyes,” Hawley wrote. “Our voters support social insurance plans. On top of that, our voters rely on these plans. There is a reason, and Republicans think well. Our economy is becoming increasingly unfriendly to workers and their families.”
Democrats, at least some of them are frustrated by the cuts. Rep. Frank Palone (DN.J.), the top Democrat of the Energy and Commerce Commission, issued a statement in a statement: “There is no doubt that millions of Americans will lose health care, hospitals will be closed, and seniors will not be able to get the care they need, and if the bill passes millions, there will be a raise for millions.”
“It’s not about trimming fat around the edges, it’s about cutting fat on bones,” he wrote. “The vast majority of savings in this bill will come from taking health care away from millions of Americans. In this bill, they don’t have any place to cut ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ — they are cutting people’s health care and using the money to give billionaires tax breaks.”
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) colluded with HHS secretary Kennedy at a hearing earlier this week. "You can't deny that the maximum tenth of a percent will receive $235 billion in tax relief," Sanders said in response to Kennedy.
Pete Buttigieg didn't figure it out either. “Now, positive and central, we need to talk about … Medicaid,” he said this week. “As we said, Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump are ready to take Medicaid away from millions of Americans. The impact on health, poverty, the economy, on their lives is huge.”
However, there is no Democrat in Congress or elsewhere that can prevent the bill from passing, which is why Republicans need to beat it now, and they still have a majority.
Trump insists that his administration will not cut Medicaid. He told reporters in January that “we will love and cherish” the program, “people will not be affected”, which will only be “better, more effective.” He insisted on Sean Hannity next month, which would not be "touched" and would only be "strengthened" and reiterated reporters at a cabinet meeting a few weeks later, saying "we won't touch it."
In each case, Trump also added that the administration is seeking warnings to eliminate waste and fraud - which he now uses unreasonably as an excuse to bring the axe to the one he claims to be “so cherished.” Yes, millions of unfortunate Americans will put their lives in a flood, but the wealthy people who will restore Trump’s office need tax cuts.