President Donald Trump’s proposed $2 trillion cut to mandatory federal spending will likely place Medicaid in the line of fire. But what would this mean for employers who provide health plans through private insurers?
The House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that includes an $880 billion cut over a decade to the healthcare and energy sectors. While the budget resolution did not mention Medicaid, it’s clear this kind of reduction in spend is not possible without defunding Medicaid and leaving potentially millions of Americans uninsured. According to KKF, a $880 billion loss would represent 29% of state Medicaid spending per resident. In order for states to offset the loss of federal funds, they would need to cover fewer Americans, lower the quality of benefits and pay providers lower rates.
