Don't gut Medicaid for richest Americans' tax cuts
By The Herald Editorial Board
As disruptive and damaging as Elon Musk and his chainsaw-like hacks at federal workers and spending have been, congressional Republicans are moving ahead — with more stealth and savvy than Musk — to adopt far more consequential cuts to vital and popular “safety net” programs, in order to make room in the federal budget for an extension of federal tax cuts that otherwise would expire at the end of the year.
Among notable anti-poverty programs being considered for potentially deep cuts are the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, popularly known as food stamps, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. But causing the greatest concern have been the hungry eyes cast upon Medicaid, the program supported jointly by federal and state governments that provides health coverage for low-income individuals, children and families.
Medicaid provides health care services for more than 72 million people across the nation, about 1 in 4 of us. Among those who qualify for care are the low-income elderly, those with disabilities and about half of all children. In Washington state, Medicaid, through the state’s Apple Health program, serves more than 1.8 million people — about a fifth of the state’s population — including 47 percent of children, 1 in 6 adults. 3 in 5 nursing home residents and 3 in 8 people with disabilities.
Among the promises made leading up to the 2024 election, Donald Trump and Republicans pledged to extend most of the tax cuts they adopted in 2017 as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. But extending those tax cuts — as proposed in a budget outline approved in a tight party-line vote last month — calls for a reduction of $4.5 trillion in revenue that those taxes would have generated over the next 10 years, but only partially paid for with $2 trillion in proposed cuts to federal spending.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-dont-gut-medicaid-for-richest-americans-tax-cuts/