Message #1: Medicaid Serves Priority Populations
Medicaid provides health insurance to low-income adults, children and parents, pregnant individuals, and people with disabilities. These are the individuals directly affected by cuts to Medicaid funding.
Message #2: Medicaid Cuts Will Terminate Health Insurance for Millions
Rushed cuts to Medicaid funding hurt every individual who gets their health insurance through Medicaid, including seniors and children. These cuts can lead to individuals losing all their healthcare coverage or losing services such as long-term care and nursing home stays, which is worrying in the face of rising healthcare costs.
Message #3: Proposals to Cut Medicaid Will Shift Costs to Already Strapped State Budgets
Moving to block grants (when the state receives a fixed amount of funding for Medicaid) cuts Medicaid funding and shifts the responsibility to pay for Medicaid to state governments. If state governments cannot fill the funding gap left by block grants, seniors, children, and people with disabilities may have to compete for funding. Additionally, block grants may lead to increases in state taxes to fill the funding gap. Block grants will also increase the administrative burden, creating more costs and a slower system. Other proposals being considered to cut Medicaid, such as reducing the federal matching rate or restricting states’ use of provider taxes, will also shift costs to the states.
Message #4: Proposals to Cut Medicaid Ignore True Causes of Increased Health Care Costs
Congress focusing on cutting Medicaid funding does not address one of the significant issues that make our healthcare system so expensive: the high healthcare costs set by drug and insurance companies.
