WASHINGTON — It’s among his most famous campaign promises: Donald Trump pledged he would not cut Medicaid as president.
But the legislation that Trump has aggressively promoted, and that Congress is expected to vote on Thursday, appears to do exactly that. It would reduce Medicaid spending by hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years, compared with current law, while dramatically altering the financing of a program that covers 70 million Americans.
The White House, however, says it is not “cutting” Medicaid.
The population is growing at less than 1% per year. The over-65 population is growing at 1.1% per year. CPI, they tell us, is 1.5-1.7% per year.
Thus, growing spending at 4% per year is not a “cut.”
Even if some prior administration had planned to grow it at 7%.
If you can’t keep the program growing when you’re allowed to spend MORE than the combined rate of inflation and population growth, then you don’t have a funding problem, and you do have a management problem.
How can it be a ‘cut’ if more is appropriated in this bill than was last year? Please explain that to me.
If the headlines read, “they’re raising spending, even after adjusting for inflation and population growth, but not as much as Obama wanted to raise spending,” who would buy the paper, and who would protest?
3.7 percent is bigger than the combined rate of CPI and population growth.
So, the administration official was telling the truth – this is not a cut.
“Cut” means they’re going to spend less next year than this year – in real per capita terms. It does not mean that previous administrations planned for spending to rise at 7% and instead it’s going to rise at 3.7%.
Imagine if I applied government budget logic to my diet!
Oh, gee, honey, I cut back on beer but I’m still gaining weight.
Really, how did you cut back on beer?
Well, I had previously planned to increase my beer drinking by two bottles a week, but instead I increased my beer drinking by one bottle a week.
Uh huh.
I’d ask that the media be honest and print that Trump planned to INCREASE Medicaid spending in real per capita dollars but at a rate that is lower than had been planned by his predecessor, in an effort to make the program more sustainable, since continued growth at triple the combined rate of CPI and population growth cannot mathematically happen.
But you wouldn’t generate ratings if you did that.
If there are cuts to medicaid and meficate this
More prople without health insurance. High copays. People wont go to see theur doctors. Just a big mess of medical bills and no way to pay them. Dont see how our president is making America better. We will all become poorer
We are 1,080.90 and 672.00 ( before gross check 1328.90 and 921.80) too high earn I have big problems my “issuess” health often. I can’t afford pay fake teeth cause of I have osteoarthritis teeth bad as my husband have bad teeth he can’t afford new them we are sad what do we do? If you can’t help I understand np
Thank you
Terri
I forgot add say we are Deaf