During his 2024 campaign trail, Donald Trump firmly stated that reductions to Social Security and Medicare were off-limits. However, his Democratic rivals cautioned that should Trump secure the presidency, he wouldn’t just focus on Social Security and Medicare; they feared he’d also aim at Medicaid, the program offering healthcare coverage to economically disadvantaged Americans.
On March 11, in an article published by CalMatters, health journalist Kristen Hwang examines the concerns of Californians residing in Republican-leaning or swing congressional districts regarding potential reductions in Medicaid funding.
In earlier times classified as a Republican-leaning state, California shifted towards becoming moreDemocratic from the 1980s onwards. The anticipated Democratic presidential candidate for 2024, Kamala Harris, reflects this political trend. won California by 20 percent Nevertheless, certain rural areas of California continue to elect Republican representatives, as seen in the districts highlighted by Hwang.
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GOP lawmakers, Hwang notes most recently approved a federal budget bill that will likely result in reductions to the Medicaid insurance program, referred to as Medi-Cal in California.
While the specifics will require several months to finalize, Hwang explains Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report suggesting that it would be unachievable for House Republicans to reach their target of reducing $880 billion in expenditures over the coming decade from the committees managing Medicaid and Medicare unless they cut funding from one of these social welfare programs.
Hwang continues Medicaid offers health coverage to individuals with disabilities and those who have low incomes. Meanwhile, Medicare covers senior citizens aged 65 and older… In California, the extensive Medicaid program ensures healthcare for 14.9 million residents, which accounts for over a third of the state’s total population. Republican representatives from California currently hold nine seats in the House and serve approximately 2.5 million Medicaid recipients. Each of these nine members supported the passage of the House GOP budget proposal towards the end of February.
One California critic of Medicaid reductions is Josephine Rios, who lives in Orange County just south of Los Angeles.
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Rios, whose grandson has cerebral palsy, told CalMatters It's not about beingRepublican or Democrat. Ignore all the political nonsense; this is a humanitarian issue. Without it, some individuals will face death, and others, such as my grandson, could be put at serious risk.
Marisol De La Vega Cardoso, who serves as the senior vice president at Family HealthCare Network, worries about being forced to “reduce services” due to potential Medicaid budget reductions. Meanwhile, Francisco Silva, the head of the California Primary Care Association, informed CalMatters that they view Medicaid cutbacks as an “existential threat.”
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Read the complete CalMatters piece. at this link .
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