The legislation passed out of the Senate on Tuesday as members raced through the legislative process to meet Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline. Members who previously expressed concerns about the Senate’s version of the bill will be under enormous pressure to vote for it without changes.
The tax and spending bill is projected to cost more than $3 trillion over the next decade, but it would partially paid for with about $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid.
The legislation would enact an unprecedented reduction in the program currently used by more than 70 million low-income Americans, and reverse many of the health coverage gains of the Biden and Obama administrations, when policies were enacted to make it much easier to sign up for health insurance.
Almost 12 million lower-income Americans would lose their health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Republicans hold narrow majorities in the House, and Democrats and health advocacy groups plan to hammer home the unpopular nature of the cuts ahead of the midterm elections.
“Elected members of Congress should consider the political lessons of the past. In 2018, more than 20 Republican House members who voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act lost their seats,” the American Nurses Association said in a statement following the bill’s passage in the Senate.
“While many factors contributed to those outcomes, the public’s concern over health care access—particularly Medicaid—was a decisive issue in many districts. This is an important reminder that voters care deeply about health care, and they are paying attention.”
