President Donald Trump has signed a Republican budget law that sharply reduces federal support for Medicaid, Medicare and Affordable Care Act subsidies, according to Democratic lawmakers and the advocacy group Protect Our Care. Critics say the measure removes about $1 trillion from health-care programs, including a $400 billion cut to hospital funding that could force more than 330 facilities to close or curtail services. Protect Our Care projects that as many as 15 million Americans could lose coverage when the reductions take effect. State-level analyses are beginning to emerge. Representative Greg Landsman estimated the changes could strip insurance from at least 460,000 Ohio residents, while colleagues from New Hampshire and other states warned of similar fallout for low-income families and rural communities. Republican leaders have promoted the law as a way to limit federal spending and finance recently enacted tax reductions, but they have not yet detailed contingency plans for communities that stand to lose local hospitals or affordable insurance options.
They cut $1T from healthcare to pay for tax cuts for the super-wealthy. That means at least 460,000 Ohioans will lose their coverage. We’re fighting to restore funding and extend the ACA credits. https://t.co/GefttCghTy
Over 330 hospitals will be forced to close or scale back services due to Republican legislation that ultimately guts $400 billion in critical funding, per @protectourcare. https://t.co/wxnD7p9i4l
Republicans’ Big Ugly law will take away healthcare from 15 million people, including many people who can least afford to lose their healthcare. This will make life more expensive for these Americans, all to pay for tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy. It’s time we started https://t.co/sXXzTVoZ7s