Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday refuted the existence of Medicaid cuts due to President Trump’s megabill of tax and spending cuts.
“First of all, there’s no cuts on Medicaid. There is a — there’s a diminishment of the growth rate of Medicaid, which is bankrupting our country. And, by the way, the national debt is also a determinant — a social determinant — of health,” Kennedy told Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow on his show.
“If we’re leaving our kids with these giant debts, they can’t afford health care. They can’t afford good food,” he added.
The “big, beautiful bill” cuts about $1 trillion from Medicaid, mostly through strict work requirements and reductions to how states can fund their Medicaid programs via provider taxes and state-directed payments.
The majority of the cuts will not happen soon, but rural hospitals in particular have said they likely will have to make difficult financial decisions on which services they can afford to hold onto and which may need to be cut.
Medicaid is also set to become a central issue in the fight over control of Congress during next year’s midterm elections now that the bill is law. Republicans have argued the Medicaid cuts are required to address waste and fraud in the program, making sure “able-bodied” adults are not taking advantage of the system.
