House Republicans roll out new plan to decimate Medicaid

Georgia Rep. Austin Scott said House Republicans might cut the federal funding provided to states for Medicaid expansion, a change that could result in tens of thousands of Americans losing their health insurance.

Scott made the remarks in an April 22 interview with Fox Business.

“When the Dems expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, they made that percentage match 90-10, so the federal government is paying 90% of the Medicaid expansion,” Scott said. “What we have talked about is moving that 90% level of the expansion back to the more traditional levels of 50% to approximately 80%.”

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, incentivized states to expand Medicaid by having the federal government cover up to 90% of the cost. This allowed millions of previously uninsured adults to obtain health insurance.

Ten states with Republican-led legislatures—including swing states Georgia and Wisconsin—have refused to expand Medicaid. Seven of these states rank in the top 20 for having the highest rate of uninsured residents.

Twelve more states—including Arizona and North Carolina—have trigger laws that would end Medicaid expansion if the federal match rate fell below 90%, as Scott proposed.

An analysis by the Center for American Progress, shared first with The Hill, found that cutting Medicaid expansion would likely lead to more than 34,000 additional deaths every year.

About 72 million Americans currently depend on Medicaid for health coverage.

Scott’s proposal is being considered for the upcoming reconciliation bill that House Republicans are now crafting. The bill currently aims to cut $1.5 trillion in federal spending, in part to fund tax cut extensions for the wealthiest Americans.

Economists warn that this would be almost impossible to achieve without deep cuts to Medicaid or other safety net programs.

Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, the number two Democrat in the House, said Scott’s idea is only the latest example of Republicans trying to make health care less accessible.

“The GOP is getting ready to take away your health care,” Clark wrote on X. “This is just overturning the ACA by another name and for one purpose: to hand more money to billionaires.”