GOP Secures Trifecta, Sets Sights on Major Healthcare Cuts!

With the Republican Party taking control of both the U.S. Congress and the Presidency as of January, they have openly expressed plans to implement significant healthcare reductions. These cuts are expected to increase expenses and jeopardize health insurance for millions across the nation.

Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), who chairs the House Budget Committee,
informed journalists this week that the GOP intends to bypass the filibuster through the reconciliation process to target “mandatory programs,” which include Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

In reaction to Arrington’s statement, Bobby Kogan, the senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, pointed out that Republicans previously aimed to reduce Medicaid and the tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that assist subscribers in paying for health insurance.

A key member of the Republican Study Committee, Arrington supported a 2025 budget plan proposing the removal of ACA tax credits. This action could strip approximately 4 million Americans of their insurance coverage.

The tax credits are scheduled to expire next year, which gives Republicans the option to simply let them lapse without renewal.

During their previous federal majority, Republicans attempted but failed to completely repeal the ACA, triggering mass protests on Capitol Hill.

President-elect Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) both declared during their campaigns their intention to make another attempt at this.

“We’re going to replace it,” Trump
claimed in his only debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in September, even though he admitted lacking a fully developed alternative plan.

Johnson also mentioned during a campaign event in Pennsylvania last month that “healthcare reform is going to be a major part of our agenda.” When asked about the future of Obamacare, Johnson firmly responded, “No Obamacare.”

“The ACA is deeply entrenched, we need substantial reform to make it work,” he continued, “and we have plenty of ideas on how to achieve that.”

Sarah Lueck and Allison Orris from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
expressed concerns on Wednesday that Trump’s return to the White House and the GOP’s dominance in Congress could pose “great risks to people’s ability to access and afford health coverage in Medicaid and the marketplaces.”

“While Republicans have shifted from describing their U.S. health policy changes as ‘repeal,'” Lueck and Orris noted, “Trump’s first term and the Republican Party’s recent policy statements suggest they might enact policies leading to higher costs, less access to care for vulnerable populations, and more uninsured individuals.”

“Just as a grassroots movement of Americans across the country succeeded in preserving the Affordable Care Act during Trump’s first term, we can protect Social Security and Medicare.”

Even if Republicans fail to pass significant legislative changes to healthcare, Trump will still be able to inflict considerable damage
through executive actions. Lueck and Orris highlighted that during his first administration, Trump implemented multiple administrative measures that restricted access to coverage and diluted consumer protections, ranging from new Medicaid enrollment paperwork to the expansion of so-called “junk” insurance plans.

Vice President-elect JD Vance also hinted during the 2024 campaign that a second Trump term
might aim to reduce protections for individuals with preexisting conditions.

“The overarching theme of the GOP’s healthcare agenda is clear: cuts,”
Vox‘s Dylan Scott wrote just before the November 5 election. “They plan to cut regulations and spending.”

Stephanie Armour from
KFF Health News reported after Trump’s win that his second term “is likely to bring changes that scale back public health insurance programs—raising the uninsured rate, while imposing new roadblocks to abortion and other reproductive health services.”

Medicaid appears especially at risk, as noted by Armour, with Trump and the Republican Party potentially aiming to “introduce work requirements for beneficiaries in certain states” and modify how the program is financed.

“Currently, the federal government reimburses states a variable percentage of program costs,” Armour explained. “Conservatives have long pushed for capping these federal payments, which critics argue would result in severe cuts.”

As for Medicare, the Project 2025 agenda, crafted by many ex-members of Trump’s first team, suggests making privatized Medicare Advantage plans the default option for seniors—a shift that experts
assert could threaten the existence of traditional Medicare.

“Trump and Republicans will attempt to cut our earned benefits,” Alex Lawson, executive director of the advocacy group Social Security Works,
alerted in an op-ed for Common Dreams on Wednesday. “But just as a grassroots movement of Americans across the country managed to save the Affordable Care Act during Trump’s first term, we can safeguard Social Security and Medicare.”