House Republican Health Budget Cuts Would Have a Devastating Impact on Seniors and Children in States across the Nation

First State-by-State Analysis of House Republican Budget Shows Big Cutbacks in Each State

Washington, D.C.—The proposed budget introduced this week by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives slashes federal health coverage funding over the next 10 years in California, Texas, and New York by $263 billion, $193 billion, and $190 billion, respectively, according to a 50-state analysis released today by the consumer health group Families USA.

The largest cuts would occur in the Medicaid program. The Medicaid cuts alone in California, New York, and Texas would be $148 billion, $141 billion, and $116 billion, respectively.

Other cuts result from changes in Medicare and from eliminating tax credit subsidies in the Affordable Care Act designed to make insurance premiums affordable for middle-class and moderate-income families. 

Medicaid and Medicare would be significantly restructured. Medicaid would be converted to a block grant with the states receiving considerably less funding than they would under current law. Starting in 2022, Medicare would be changed to a system that provides vouchers as a partial payment for private health insurance premiums—and the portions paid by seniors would grow, and become less affordable, with each passing year.

These cutbacks will have a disproportionate impact on seniors. The Medicaid program is the largest payer of long-term care, including half of all nursing home costs nationally. Medicare provides health coverage for seniors over 65 years of age.

The Medicaid cuts will also have an adverse impact on children. There are close to 30 million low-income children in the nation who depend on Medicaid for their health care.

“The proposed House Republican health care cuts will have a devastating impact on seniors and children in every state across the nation,” said Ron Pollack, Families USA’s Executive Director. “They will keep frail seniors from getting needed nursing home and long-term care, and they will cause many children to lose their access to health care.” 

Nationwide, the Medicaid cuts over the next 10 years are $1.4 trillion. Most of those cuts ($771 billion) occur because of the reduced funding provided in the proposed block grants. The other cuts ($627 billion) result from eliminating the Affordable Care Act’s expanded Medicaid coverage. In California, for example, the reduced funding in the proposed new block grant program accounts for $88 billion in Medicaid cuts, while $60 billion in cuts occur due to the elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansion.  

The House Republican budget also substantially increases income taxes for middle-income families. It does so by eliminating tax credits, scheduled to go into effect in 2014, designed to help middle-class families pay for health insurance. For example, a family of four with about $45,000 in annual income and monthly health insurance premiums of $1,100 would lose a tax credit of nearly $10,400.

“The House Republican proposal abandons the promises we have made to seniors and people with disabilities by reducing spending on nursing home and long-term care and by ending Medicare as we know it,” Pollack said. “At the same time that House Republicans are extending huge tax cuts for America’s richest people, they are cutting back the health lifeline for people who need it the most.

“This makes no sense and reflects cruel and misplaced ideological priorities,” Pollack said.

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Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 1100 · Washington, DC 20005
202-628-3030 · Email: info@familiesusa.org · www.familiesusa.org