OPINION: Let’s get real about the Medicaid reform in the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
President Trump recently signed H.R.1, aka the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," into law. The basis of the bill is an extension of the 2017 tax relief. Also included in the new law is the first substantial reform to the Medicaid health insurance entitlement. Despite claims that “the sky is falling,” the Medicaid reforms are actually a start at guaranteeing that the program will survive into the future and be available for the country’s most vulnerable people.
Opponents decry the “cuts” to Medicaid. In reality, the new law actually reduces an INCREASE in spending from four percent to two percent. Only convoluted accounting would define an increase in spending as a “cut." Medicaid spending was $900 billion last year and has increased 60 percent since 2019. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that even with H.R.1 in place, Medicaid will grow by $200 billion over the next decade.
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