Let's Stop Trying To Gut Medicaid.

As Donald Trump's Presidency Continues, Republicans Are Once Again Targeting Medicaid Cuts.

Benefits Of Medicaid.

On the campaign trail Donald Trump promised Medicaid wouldn’t be touched. However, it seems republicans are already keen on going back on this promise.

First announcing massive cuts to the Affordable Care Act’s navigator program, before then putting forth plans to extend work requirements and other cuts for Medicaid in an attempt to fund their tax cuts.

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for people with limited income and resources. Those with Medicaid usually don’t pay anything for covered medical expenses but could owe a small co-payment for some services.

U.S. Medicaid Statistics.

Over 80 million people are currently insured by Medicaid. Around 40% of all children in America and 80% of those in poverty are insured through Medicare, as well as 1-in-6 adults or nearly half of those in poverty.

It covers 41% of births in america, and nearly 50% of all special needs children who have medical costs more expensive than the typical child. The majority of nursing home residents are on Medicaid and it helps cover services that Medicare doesn’t for seniors, like most long-term care.

To say this is a widely relied on program is an understatement. Medicaid’s yearly budget is $880 billion, funded jointly by the states and federal government. 65% of that spending accounts for the elderly, children, and those with disabilities.

This is a program that targets those who need it most, and does so rather effectively. Gutting it to fund tax cuts would literally be stealing from the poor to give to the rich.

Access To Care For Medicaid, Private Insurance, And Uninsured.

Medicaid sees drastically better access to care than those who are uninsured, and better-than or equal-to access as private insurance. Studies have found Medicaid to have cut the mortality rate for African American children in their teens by as much as 20%.

Not only are the costs per beneficiary on Medicaid drastically lower, as much as 22% lower, but this cost has grown slower over time for Medicaid than it has for private insurance. Showing by even economic metrics it is more effective.

The issue with adding work requirements to a program so many rely on is the multifaceted effects it will have. For instance, most under the age of 65 on Medicaid already work, but for those over 65 who rely on Medicaid to cover services Medicare won’t working would be all but impossible.

Work requirements in states like Arkansas led to as many as 18,000 losing their health insurance, a spike in the uninsured population, and no increase in employment. This is without mentioning, its actually more costly to have these work requirements due to administrative costs implementing them.

Finally, literature supports being in poor health with increased risked of job loss and employment instability. It also supports access to affordable care having a positive affect on the ability to obtain and maintain care.

All-in-all, the attack on Medicaid is a misguided one. This is a program 10s of millions of Americans rely on. Mainly children, the elderly, and the disabled all while affording them care for far lower costs than private insurance.

The system is a beacon of the power of public funding, and the necessity for social programs. It should be protected at all costs, not gutted for the 1% to get more handouts.