Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a budget resolution mandating significant funding cuts to Medicaid to offset spending in other areas, such as renewing expiring tax cuts and increasing allocations for Defense and the Judiciary. As part of this resolution, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, is required to reduce spending by at least $880 billion over the next decade. While other programs under the committee’s jurisdiction may also be affected, Medicaid, as the largest expenditure, will bear the brunt of these cuts.
The Energy and Commerce Committee is evaluating different strategies that would impact Medicaid recipients in various ways. However, every proposed reduction in Medicaid funding would ultimately result in fewer people receiving essential healthcare services.
Congress has multiple options for reducing Medicaid funding. Some advocates have even been reassured that “Medicaid won’t be cut” when reaching out to their representatives—but this is simply not the case. For healthcare practitioners, reduced federal funding could lead to cuts in reimbursement rates, changes in coverage (such as telehealth or home- and community-based optional services), stricter utilization management (like prior authorization), and increased audits.
For school-based practitioners, these cuts could affect staffing for special education and related services if schools lose a critical funding source. Even if a school does not bill Medicaid directly, many Medicaid-enrolled students could face reduced access to care outside of school due to these funding changes.
While all federal programs, including Medicaid, can be improved to better serve their populations, reducing Medicaid’s budget and limiting service coverage are unlikely to benefit those who depend on it.
The real-life stories of you and your patients about how Medicaid policy changes impact you are critical to the advocacy efforts of Congressional members. Take action now to urge Congress to not cut Medicaid funding!