Early this morning, after days of backroom deals and middle-of-the-night debates, the House of Representatives passed a bill that includes the largest Medicaid cuts in history. The bill passed 215-214, with two Republicans¹ opposing the bill for not cutting deeply enough into the nation’s safety net and one Republican² voting “present,” and two Republicans³ skipping the vote altogether. Every Democrat voted against the bill. If the Senate allows this proposal to move forward, at least $716 billion dollars will be stripped from the Medicaid program to fund tax breaks for the ultra-rich.
More than 71 million Americans depend on Medicaid for their healthcare coverage, including 40 percent of adults living with HIV. At least 7.6 million people could lose coverage under this proposal.
More than 83 million Americans rely on Medicaid expansion for their healthcare coverage, including the 42 percent of Medicaid enrollees with HIV. In fact, Medicaid expansion has become the primary pathway to Medicaid eligibility for people with HIV. Between 9.7 and 14.4 million people could lose coverage because of arbitrary mandatory work reporting requirements designed to make coverage out of reach. We know from failed Medicaid work reporting requirement experiments in Arkansas, Georgia, and New Hampshire that these policies do not help more people find employment. They simply strip people of healthcare coverage by strangling them with red tape.
Nearly 4 million people with ACA marketplace plans could lose coverage because of provisions passed by the Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee that codify the Trump administration’s recent marketplace rule.
Another 4.2 million people will lose marketplace coverage when Congress fails to extend the premium tax credit enhancements, which make health insurance plans more affordable.
Conservative estimates predict at least 15 million people could lose coverage under this proposal, with many more losing their health insurance from the aforementioned reporting requirements and the expiration of tax credits. Yet, because of various tax gimmicks that aim to conceal the true human cost of this bill, the architects of the House reconciliation bill deny any harm will come to the American people. They hide beyond rhetoric about waste, fraud, and abuse, and try to pit those they deem as “deserving” of healthcare against those ‘able-bodied’ Medicaid recipients just looking for a ‘free ride.’
The truth is, none of these policies will make people living with or vulnerable to HIV healthier. Regardless of what they call these cuts or how they defend them, the only way their proposal achieves its desired goal is by kicking people off of Medicaid.
We are all deserving of healthcare because healthcare – including HIV prevention, treatment, and care – is a human right.
Shame on House Republicans for turning their backs on their constituents and supporting this bill. We urge the Senate to stand up for the American public and reject these cuts outright.
¹ Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-04) and Rep. Warren Davidson (OH-08)
² Rep. Andy Harris (MD-01)
³ Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-01) and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (NY-02)
