The chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Brett Guthrie, is calling the savings goal set by his committee as “realistic” and has said that Republicans can achieve their aim of slashing $880 billion from committee programs without reducing Medicaid benefits. The goal is to counteract President Trump’s domestic agenda.
The remarks made by the Republican from Kentucky at an event hosted by the Washington Post on Tuesday morning on technology and artificial intelligence (AI) coincide with the impasse that has developed in the House and Senate regarding the discrepancies between the two budget proposals. To proceed with the reconciliation process—which involves avoiding filibusters—to create and pass a law to implement energy policy, border security measures, tax cuts, and other measures, the two houses must reach an agreement on a single plan.
Medicaid covers millions of low-income Americans, but the Energy and Commerce Committee wants to find expenditure cuts so aggressively that lawmakers would have to make big changes to the program, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The idea has Republicans on both sides of the aisle anxious, as Democrats have hammered the GOP on this subject.
However, Guthrie reiterated the House’s demand for a decrease of $880 billion in spending, claiming that his committee could achieve this target by reversing climate policies that were implemented under Biden’s administration. In addition, he said that members might cut costs significantly by addressing Medicaid’s unsustainable expansion, which is his opinion.
“We can preserve benefits, guarantee people receive promised benefits, and manage the massive growth simultaneously if we take advantage of this opportunity.” Guthrie emphasized that the advantages should remain intact.
As Guthrie indicated, this might be achieved by adjustments to the taxes that states collect from healthcare providers in order to cover their portion of Medicaid costs, as opposed to utilizing their general revenue. In addition, he mentioned that Republicans have the power to lower the federal share for states that have opted to expand Medicaid via the Affordable Care Act, and they might introduce additional regulations to verify eligibility for recipients.
“In Kentucky, the federal government covers 72 cents for a handicapped child’s medical expenses. The federal government will cover 90% of a healthy adult’s medical expenses. “We think that’s just unfair and takes away money,” Guthrie said, adding that the states are financially motivated to care for this population. “Our goal is to ensure that it is more equitable.”
In the state-federal Medicaid program, however, states may oppose such plans. They may force states to cut benefits or increase taxes, which would be met with opposition from governors of both parties and a number of Republicans in Congress.
