BEYOND THE NUMBERS
In Case You Missed It...
This week at CBPP, we focused on health care, the federal budget and taxes, food assistance, and jobs.
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On health care, Matt Broaddus outlined the ways in which the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion helps hospitals, especially in rural areas, and explained that the Senate health bill would effectively eliminate the expansion. Edwin Park cited new Urban Institute figures showing that the House-passed health care bill would force large cuts in Medicaid enrollment in many states. He also showed that potential changes to the House bill’s per capita cap would further reduce federal funding, and explained how much deeper the cuts could grow. Hannah Katch pointed out that the only way Senate Republicans can preserve Medicaid coverage for children is by dropping the per capita cap. She also warned that the Senate’s per capita cap would deepen the cuts for high-cost states.
Brandon DeBot showed that the House bill’s tax cuts for the 400 highest-income households exceed the cost of maintaining the Medicaid expansion in most states. Jacob Leibenluft warned that large Medicaid cuts and structural changes, if enacted, would be difficult to reverse.
Aviva Aron-Dine highlighted a list of shared priorities for health reform from a bipartisan group of governors, which conflicts with key provisions of the House bill. In addition, she looked at the state of insurance marketplaces around the country as insurers submit the preliminary list of plans they intend to offer next year. We also examined recent trends in the marketplaces as a whole and tracked marketplaces in some individual states. Shelby Gonzales explained why many U.S. immigrants with lawful status couldn’t buy marketplace coverage under the Senate plan.
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On the federal budget and taxes, Kathleen Romig, Brynne Keith-Jennings, and Raheem Chaudhry explained that recent proposals from the President and some congressional Republicans would threaten basic needs and independence for people with disabilities.
Chloe Cho, Isaac Shapiro, and David Reich showed that cuts in the Trump budget would accelerate the decline in block grants for housing, health, and human services programs.
Reich also chided the House Appropriations Committee for beginning to consider individual funding bills without first setting its overall priorities and debating how funding for one bill affects the funding available for the others.
- On food assistance, Robert Greenstein described food stamps’ contribution to reducing hunger and poverty and the likely impact of proposed funding cuts.
- On jobs, Tazra Mitchell summarized a study of a training program that yielded substantial earnings gains. We also updated our backgrounder on the number of weeks of unemployment benefits available in each state.
Chart of the Week – House GOP Bill's Tax Cuts Roughly Equal Federal Spending Cuts from Ending Medicaid Expansion
A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently. Here are some highlights:
Medicaid expansion could end early in Illinois under Senate Obamacare replacement
bill
Chicago Tribune
June 22, 2017
Senate Republicans release healthcare bill that will affect coverage for millions
The Guardian
June 22, 2017
Rural Areas Brace for Health Care Bill Impact
CQ Roll Call
June 21, 2017
The current political zeal for cutting poverty programs will millions of vulnerable children and adults hungry
Spokesman-Review
June 21, 2017
At Colleges, Demographic Changes Everywhere but the Top
New York Times
June 20, 2017
Trump seeks sharp cuts to housing aid, except for program that brings him millions
Washington Post
June 20, 2017
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