Washington, D.C. — Dismantling the Medicaid program is at the heart of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ agenda—and the devastating Medicaid cuts proposed in their attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act are a critical flashpoint in health care negotiations. President Trump has proposed cutting Medicaid by half in his budget. Yet new analysis from the Center for American Progress shows how broad-based the Medicaid program is: The more than 1 in 5 Americans who rely on Medicaid hail from all states, age groups, genders, races, and ethnicities.
In three tables, CAP breaks out Medicaid enrollment for each state by gender, race and ethnicity, and age group to provide a comprehensive, localized look at the individuals and groups who would be harmed by deep cuts to the program—which enjoys strong support from the American public and governors on both sides of the aisle.
“The deep cuts being considered by President Trump and congressional Republicans are more than just numbers on paper. They would affect real individuals and families, including 15 million Americans with disabilities and 1.8 million veterans. It’s critical that elected leaders confront the reality of who will be affected by their efforts to end Medicaid as we know it, ” said Katherine Gallagher Robbins, director of family policy for the Poverty to Prosperity Program at CAP.
“Medicaid supports Americans’ health care needs at all stages of life. It covers half of children on the day they are born and supports the large majority of people in nursing homes in their last years of life. These cuts threaten to do widespread harm to 72 million Americans from every state, age group, and background,” said Rachel West, associate Director of the Poverty to Prosperity Program at CAP.
Click here to read the full report, “Who Receives Medicaid? A State-by-State Breakdown,” by Rachel West and Katherine Gallagher Robbins.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Devon Kearns at 202.741.6290 or [email protected].