Anti-union extremists in Congress are proposing massive cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the rich. We’re not going to let that happen.
AFSCME members won’t sit on the sidelines as anti-worker politicians target people with disabilities, children, senior citizens and vital public services, all to pay for tax breaks for wealthy corporations and billionaires.
Federal Medicaid dollars are the largest source of federal funding for states. They accounted for 56% of total federal funding allocated to states last year.
Cuts to federal Medicaid dollars will force states to slash budgets and jobs for a range of state and local public services.
Here’s what AFSCME’s research shows will happen if these cuts pass Congress:
- States could impose or increase Medicaid premiums, copays and other cost-sharing requirements for recipients. Many of them already struggle to make ends meet. Worse yet, states might kick many people off Medicaid altogether.
- For every federal dollar spent on Medicaid, a state sees roughly $1.53 in economic impact. Federal Medicaid cuts will hurt state economies in a big way.
- Communities rely on Medicaid after public health crises and disasters, such as the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, the 9/11 attacks, hurricanes, and the Flint, Michigan, water crisis. Medicaid cuts will harm our preparedness for such emergencies.
- Medicaid provides extra federal funding to hospitals that serve vulnerable and uninured patients to offset the costs of uncompensated care. Cutting Medicaid will hurt rural hospitals and cost local jobs. It could force health care facilities to close and reduce life-saving services.
- The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows states to expand Medicaid coverage to adults with incomes up to 138% of the poverty level. The federal government pays 90 cents of every $1 states spend to cover adults through the ACA Medicaid expansion. Cuts to Medicaid would shift $631 billion or more over 10 years onto state and county budgets.
The bottom line? Medicaid cuts that anti-worker members of Congress are considering will be devastating to workers, patients, communities, and the economy. If they become law, these cuts will drive up health care costs, threaten the health care workforce and lead to economic instability.
Contact your member of Congress and tell them NO TO MEDICAID CUTS. Our health and well-being are more important than tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.