Yesterday, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed the House Energy and Commerce Committee cannot reach $880 Billion in cuts without deep cuts to Medicaid, even if they eliminated funding for other programs overseen by the committee and made cuts to Medicare.
The CBO analysis finds the committee has only $581 Billion in spending that is not Medicaid or Medicare. Congressional leadership has long promised no cuts to Medicare which would mean a minimum of $299 Billion in cuts to Medicaid, and only if it made deep cuts to other safety net programs. In fact, eliminating every program besides safety net programs only adds up to $135 Billion.
Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Budget Resolution that commits the House to $2 Trillion in cuts, with at least $880 Billion in cuts assigned to committee covering Medicaid. Based on previous proposals from House Budget Committee Republican leadership, the $880 Billion in cuts are widely anticipated to come from the Medicaid program.
Medicaid reimburses health and long-term care businesses for care they provide to 1.2 million children, pregnant women and families, low-income workers, people with disabilities, and older adults in Wisconsin. Wisconsin data shows Medicaid infused $11 Billion into 39,250 Wisconsin businesses throughout the state in 2023.
The CBO report confirms the position of the Wisconsin Medicaid Coalition: you can’t get to $880 billion without steep cuts to Medicaid. The Coalition, with participation from more than 250 stakeholders statewide, has been tracking proposed cuts to Medicaid and what they would mean to Wisconsin. A letter was sent to the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation in mid-February regarding these cuts; the letter now has 115 organizations signed on in support of the messaging “No Cuts to Medicaid”.
