WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14) highlighted a recent analysis of the Republican proposals to cut health services for Americans who rely on Medicaid. The analysis, conducted by the nonpartisan, independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO), exposes the devastating human cost of Congressional Republicans’ proposed tax giveaway to the wealthiest Americans.

“Republicans propose to cut life-saving care for hundreds of thousands of my neighbors across the Tampa Bay area to fund a massive tax cut for billionaires. It’s irresponsible and wrong,” said Rep. Castor. “The non-partisan CBO analysis makes clear Congressional Republicans’ Medicaid proposals will result in millions of Americans losing their health care coverage. Republicans in Congress and President Trump claim that they will not rip health care coverage away. Yet, every single proposal would cause massive benefit cuts and coverage loss for millions, inflicting pain and exorbitant costs on pregnant women, people with disabilities, and seniors. I will not stand for it.”

CBO finds that federal reductions in Medicaid spending will result in states responding by taking a combination of four actions:

• Spending more on Medicaid by using a mix of tax increases and cuts to other programs, such as K-12 education and public safety.
• Cutting payments to health care providers.
• Cutting optional benefits, such as home-based care and mental health care.
• Taking away health insurance from people who rely on Medicaid.

Republicans’ claims that their policies will just reduce so-called waste, fraud, and abuse or that people will not lose their benefits are simply untrue.

• 100 percent of the savings from the policies that shift costs to states come from reducing payment rates to providers, limiting optional benefits, and kicking people off coverage, not eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.
• 100 percent of the savings from rescinding the eligibility and enrollment rules that are on Republicans’ chopping block come from kicking people off Medicaid.

Additional findings include:

• Eliminating states’ ability to use provider taxes will result in 3.9 million Americans losing their health insurance.
• Imposing per capita caps on people eligible for Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion will eliminate the health insurance coverage of 1.5 million.
• Cutting the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid expansion would result in 2.4 million people losing their health insurance.
• CBO expects that states would reduce enrollment by eliminating optional coverage categories, including Medicaid expansion, and by changing enrollment policies and procedures to make enrollment more challenging to navigate.
• Repealing the Eligibility and Enrollment final rule would result in 2.3 million Americans losing Medicaid coverage, meaning 400,000 people, including children and people with disabilities, would be uninsured. Low-income seniors who retain only Medicare coverage would see premium and co-pay increases and would be unable to access the care they need without the support of Medicaid.

“The Florida Hospital Association and leaders from Tampa Bay area hospitals, including Tampa General Hospital, BayCare, Moffitt Cancer Center, Orlando Health Bayfront, and AdventHealth visited me in Washington this week to express their strong disapproval of the cuts to Medicaid. They emphasized how the harm to Medicaid, patients and providers would negatively impact care for everyone - another reason to stand firm against health care cuts from Medicaid for a tax giveaway that disproportionately benefits the wealthy and the well-connected,” said Rep. Castor.