While AcademyHealth continues to monitor the new administration's policy and personnel changes and assesses the impact of Executive Orders and other policy changes the field of health services research, our CEO, Dr. Aaron Carroll, outlined the brutal impact that the proposed Medicaid cuts would have on low- and middle-class families in a guest essay for the New York Times on Sunday. Congressional Republicans are proposing $2.5 trillion in cuts to the program to offset the cost of extending tax cuts for the ultrawealthy.
“It’s hard to overstate how catastrophic the proposed cuts would be. Medicaid alone covers more than 40 percent of births in the United States. Far from being a “handout,” it is one of the most cost-effective insurance programs in the country, meaning there is very little fat to cut without immediately harming people. It’s because of Medicaid that children, seniors and people with disabilities — groups that make up 75 percent of the program’s spending — can see a doctor or fill a prescription without going bankrupt,” Dr. Carroll wrote.
In addition to Medicaid, there are also proposed cuts to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies, which are designed to help working class Americans buy private insurance at more affordable rates.
In a separate New York Times article (13 Questions Kennedy Must Answer, According to Experts), Dr. Carroll also noted that high drug prices can drive unequal outcomes and asked about the role of emerging technologies in creating a more equitable and cost-effective health care system.
Read 13 Questions Kennedy Must Answer, According to Experts here.
Read Will Republicans Gut Medicaid to Fund Tax Cuts for the Rich? here.