Biden mentioned he and Republicans in Congress are in settlement — there will likely be no cuts to Medicare or Social Security associated to the the debt ceiling. Experts surprise if meaning Medicaid could be minimize.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
One of essentially the most memorable moments in President Biden’s tackle got here when he talked about that some Republicans need to minimize Medicare and Social Security earlier than they’re going to vote to lift the debt ceiling. Republicans within the chamber booed loudly and known as him a liar. And the president responded.
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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: As all of us apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, proper? They’re to not be touched? All proper.
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SHAPIRO: Well, as NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin explains, there’s one other federal well being program that will nonetheless be on the desk for cuts.
SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: If you need to minimize federal spending, as House 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: If you’re taking Medicare and Social Security off the desk, and possibly protection spending as nicely and tax will increase, the following greatest chunk of the federal funds is Medicaid.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Medicaid gives medical health insurance for low-income Americans. It’s funded partly by states and partly by the federal authorities, and lots of people are enrolled, at present greater than 1 in 4 Americans, 91 million individuals, 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: Just ask the person at present searching for federal spending cuts, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. In 2017, when Republicans tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act and minimize federal Medicaid spending, McCarthy instructed CNN this.
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KEVIN MCCARTHY: We’re not taking a profit away. Nobody on Medicaid goes to be taken away.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: And ultimately, the trouble failed and Medicaid remained intact. Levitt says, on the time, the cuts to Medicaid obtained opposition from an enormous vary of parents.
LEVITT: From advocates for low-income individuals, from hospitals, from nursing properties, but additionally from governors, together with Republican governors and a few Republican senators, as nicely.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: One cause – when low-income individuals lose their well being protection, they’re extra probably to not get early remedy once 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: Health coverage specialists typically use the analogy of a water balloon. You know, you may push on one a part of the balloon, for instance, you may attempt to scale back federal spending, however the cash goes to point out up some place else. And it is sometimes states and governors which might be on the hook for determining pay for well being look after individuals.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: So he says, although Medicaid might not appear to be as politically untouchable as Medicare and Social Security, historical past has proven that it’s, the truth is, fairly laborious to chop. Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News.
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