If Medicare or Social Safety will not see cuts, what does that imply Medicaid? : NPR

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Probably the most memorable moments in President Biden’s tackle got here when he talked about that some Republicans need to reduce Medicare and Social Safety earlier than they will vote to boost the debt ceiling. Republicans within the chamber booed loudly and referred to as him a liar. And the president responded.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: As all of us apparently agree, Social Safety and Medicare is off the books now, proper? They’re to not be touched? All proper.

(CHEERING)

SHAPIRO: Effectively, as NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin explains, there’s one other federal well being program which will nonetheless be on the desk for cuts.

SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: If you wish to reduce federal spending, as Home Republicans say they do, there aren’t so many locations to look, says Larry Levitt, govt vp for well being coverage at KFF.

LARRY LEVITT: When you take Medicare and Social Safety off the desk, and doubtless protection spending as nicely and tax will increase, the subsequent largest chunk of the federal funds is Medicaid.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Medicaid supplies medical health insurance for low-income People. It is funded partially by states and partially by the federal authorities, and lots of people are enrolled, presently greater than 1 in 4 People, 91 million folks, in comparison with 65 million in Medicare.

LEVITT: There have been proposals to cap federal spending on Medicaid or convert it right into a block grant to states for many years. I imply, this goes again to when Ronald Reagan was president. And in each case, these proposals have failed due to substantial political pushback.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Simply ask the person presently on the lookout for federal spending cuts, Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy. In 2017, when Republicans tried to repeal the Reasonably priced Care Act and reduce federal Medicaid spending, McCarthy instructed CNN this.

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KEVIN MCCARTHY: We’re not taking a profit away. No person on Medicaid goes to be taken away.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: And ultimately, the hassle failed and Medicaid remained intact. Levitt says, on the time, the cuts to Medicaid acquired opposition from an enormous vary of parents.

LEVITT: From advocates for low-income folks, from hospitals, from nursing properties, but in addition from governors, together with Republican governors and a few Republican senators, as nicely.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: One purpose – when low-income folks lose their well being protection, they’re extra possible to not get early remedy after they want well being care and to finish up within the emergency room. The state typically finally ends up paying for that very costly care anyway.

LEVITT: Well being coverage consultants typically use the analogy of a water balloon. You understand, you possibly can push on one a part of the balloon, for instance, you possibly can attempt to scale back federal spending, however the cash goes to point out up some place else. And it is usually states and governors which might be on the hook for determining the right way to pay for well being look after folks.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: So he says, though Medicaid might not appear to be as politically untouchable as Medicare and Social Safety, historical past has proven that it’s, in truth, fairly laborious to chop. Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR Information.

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