The House of Representatives has passed and the Senate is considering drastic cuts to Medicaid, amongst other social programs. Wicomico County and the Lower Eastern Shore generally are not ready for the consequences should the cuts go into effect.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would cut up to $880 billion from Medicaid (insurance for the poor) over the next ten years, cuts that would be made by changing eligibility requirements and work requirements that would likely see 7-10 million people of the 74 million on Medicaide thrown off. In Wicomico County where I live, around 23,000 of my neighbors are enrolled in Medicaid, around 4,000 of whom could be cut by the new eligibility requirements.
What would the planned cuts to Medicaid mean to our community? It would mean that Medicaid recipients would face more out-of-pocket costs even as Congress considers cutting foot stamp benefits, clean energy credits, and subsidized heating and cooling costs. It would mean earlier death for those who lose their insurance. It would mean lost revenue for major employers like TidalHealth, Chesapeake Healthcare, and others; statewide, up to $1.5 billion could be cut from the GDP leading to 14,000 lost jobs and $130 million in lost tax revenue. It would mean increasing costs for those of us with insurance as TidalHealth and others increase charges to pay for the newly-uninsured who are still guaranteed a right to necessary care.
The rationale for this chaos is checking unproven but apparently rampant welfare fraud and removing the “lazy” from a benefit, both of which are absurd. No proof of widespread Medicaid fraud has been shown, at least not Medicaid fraud by recipients; insurers and hospitals engage in Medicaid fraud all the time, and this would not stop that. Of those on Medicaid, 45% are children or retirees, and most adults work, with only 3% of total Medicaid recipients who are capable of working not doing so. This bill would not increase the number of Medicaid recipients who work, just take benefits away from those who cannot prove they work. Oh, and illegal immigrants do not qualify for Medicaid.
Furthermore, the bill would extend temporary tax cuts (which largely benefited corporations and the wealthy) made in 2017 which would increase the federal deficit by up to $4 trillion (not a typo) by 2034, a deficit increase that the Congressional Budget Office estimates would force up to $500 billion in cuts to Medicare, which is insurance for the elderly. What form would those cuts take? That is unknown currently.
This is just part of the bill, and those curious about its other terms are encouraged to learn more, but the Medicaid cuts alone make this a catastrophic law that would impose cruelty in life and harshness in death upon those unlucky enough to need Medicaid (or even Medicare).
Zachary Meyer
Fruitland resident
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
