President Donald Trump and Republican leaders keep pretending they aren't cutting Medicaid with their new tax bill, which will further enrich the wealthy and pay for it in part by significantly slashing Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans. Trump, who has repeatedly promised to protect Medicaid, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have both claimed that Republicans are simply targeting "waste, fraud, and abuse" in their tax bill, which passed the House last week. David Sacks, who is serving as Trump's "AI and crypto czar," put the Medicaid situation more plainly Saturday on his All In podcast: "This bill cuts $880 billion from Medicaid over a decade."
There is rising public furor toward insurers and in particular UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurer in the U.S., which has become the poster child for problems with the U.S. insurance industry and the nation’s sprawling health-care system. The company and other insurers have faced backlash from patients who say they were denied necessary care, providers who say they are buried in red tape and lawmakers who say they are alarmed by its vast influence.
The nonpartisan CBO estimates that the Republican budget bill that passed the House by one vote this morning would trigger about $500 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare. This is because Congress is bound by the statutory Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYGO”) Act, which requires any spending to be offset by automatic cuts, to avoid deficit spending
The bill includes several proposed changes to Medicaid. Lawmakers argue that changes introduced by the bill will bring in hundreds of billions in necessary savings through the introduction of new work requirements. Beginning at the end of 2026, childless adults without disabilities would be required to work 80 hours per month to qualify for benefits.
The Republican-controlled House narrowly passed a sweeping tax and spending bill that would enact much of President Donald Trump's policy agenda on Thursday and saddle the country with trillions of dollars in debt. The bill would fulfill many of Trump's populist campaign pledges, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on the military and border enforcement. It will add about $3.8tn to the federal government’s $36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan CBO.
UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest healthcare conglomerate, has secretly paid nursing homes thousands in bonuses to help slash hospital transfers for ailing residents – part of a series of cost-cutting tactics that has saved the company millions, but at times risked residents' health, a Guardian investigation has found.