New legislative proposals from Republican members in the House of Representatives could have relevant consequences for tens of millions of Americans at this moment using Medicaid or food stamp programs. The legislation motivates to cut almot $1 trillion from the cost of the two programs, both of which are designed to provide financial support for low-income Americans. The effort is a part of the GOP’s attempts to cut spending, key to President Donald Trump’s agenda. Read on to get to know all details.
More then 71 million people are enrolled in Medicaid
At this time more than 71 million people in the United States are enrolled in Medicaid, and at the same time around 42 million are in receipt of food stamps. The growth in availability in these programs has seen the cost sky-rocket and the Republicans are searching alter the requirements to cut the ammount of people on each program.
CNN reports that the proposal includes a recent requirement which requires certain Medicaid recipients, aged among 19 and 64, to complete at least 80 hours of work per month to keep their benefits. This could also include some form of community service, education or work program. This would be the first time in the 60-year history of Medicaid that a work requirement has been included in the program. Republicans in Congress have insisted that the modifications would not affect vulnerable, elderly or disabled recipients, but experts have questioned those claims.
Michael Karpman, a principal research associate at think tank Urban Institute, argued: “We expect that millions of adults will lose coverage under work requirements, including many who are working, who are looking for a job, who are not able to work due to a health condition or disability or who are meeting some other qualifying activity, but just don’t successfully report it because they just have complications dealing with the bureaucracy of the new work reporting system.”
Key findings: House Republican House proposal
The House Republican budget proposal would cause 13.7 million Americans to lose health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office. New York would face a big variety of specific impacts, including the next ones:
- House Republicans will target funding cuts at states that offer healthcare to undocumented immigrants, reducing federal Medicaid funding by $1.9 billion per year in New York.
- The proposal would also slash payments to safety net hospitals by restricting use of State Directed Payments, putting as much as $1.6 billion in New York hospital funding per year at risk and likely causing many hospital closures. NYC Health + Hospitals would be particularly affected.
- New York’s MCO tax, which was approved by Medicaid just four months ago, could be cancelled as soon as January 2026 – costing the state $3.7 billion over two years.
- New York would be forced to impose copays on Medicaid recipients earning as little as $16,000 per year, accelerating the medical debt crisis and preventing Medicaid recipients from seeking preventive care.
- The Republican proposal would force New York to impose burdensome work requirements and paperwork-heavy eligibility tests on Medicaid recipients. While most Medicaid recipients already work, nearly one million New Yorkers could lose coverage due to red tape.
- The budget would force some New Yorkers to sell their homes in order to access Medicaid long term care.
Eliminating the MCO Tax, in the current fiscal year
New York’s MCO tax is a provider tax authorized in last year’s state budget and approved by the federal government in December 2024. It was expected to raise $3.7 billion in new federal funding for the state over the next two years. The tax was legal under existing federal regulations, but the Biden administration had started a process to modificate those regulations, so the tax was awaited to expire after two years.
