Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, recently warned that the budget resolution passed last week by the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives could increase the number of uninsured residents in Connecticut by 71% and lead to the loss of $1.5 billion in federal health insurance aid.
Lesser made his comments following an analysis of the Republican budget plan by the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. About 11 million people in America would become uninsured if Medicaid expansion states can’t fulfill spending obligations left by potential federal Medicaid cuts, the report says.
“The Republican budget resolution is immoral, irresponsible, and dangerous,” Lesser said. “It opens the door for slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and SNAP – the federal food stamp program. It poses a massive threat to everyone who relies on Medicaid – the poor, seniors in nursing homes, 40% of children in Connecticut. It’s also going to wreak havoc with the finances of every health clinic and hospital in Connecticut – and to the state budget as a whole. Why? To give Elon Musk a tax cut he doesn’t even need.”
The Republican House budget resolution seeks to cut at least $880 billion in costs through 2034, and these cuts are expected to come from the Medicaid program, according to The Center for American Progress.
The Urban Institute/RWJ Foundation analysis found that – if passed – the Medicaid cuts would result in a 71% increase in the number of uninsured residents in Connecticut, affecting people of all age groups, races, health status and gender.
Under President Joe Biden, Congress approved a short-term spending bill the week before Christmas. But – with Trump and Republicans now in charge – America’s current short-term spending bill now expires on March 14.
