Republicans reportedly ready to cut Medicaid funding to pay for Trump plans

Republicans are reportedly prepared to cut Medicaid funding to pay for Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration and to fund tax cuts which would mostly benefit the wealthy.

The GOP in the House and Senate have floated a series of ideas – many of which would target lower income Americans – to cover the cost of extending tax cuts passed by Trump in 2017, the New York Times reported.

Among the proposals is a plan to reduce access to Medicaid, the government scheme which provides health insurance to low-income Americans, in a move which would cause 600,000 people to lose access to healthcare.

Trump has touted the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as a key achievement of his first term. The legislation, which reduced the top corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, is set to expire at the end of 2025, and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated extending it would add $4.6tn to the deficit.

On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly promised to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, but with the 2025 deadline looming, Republicans are scrambling to find a way to fund that pledge – along with the money required for Trump’s desired crackdown on immigration.

Along with the Medicaid cut, which would introduce work requirements which would effectively strip 600,000 people of their healthcare coverage, Republicans are considering ending Medicaid for non US citizens, and repealing Biden-era tax credits which are designed to reduce health costs, the New York Times reported.

A 50-page document being circulated among congressional Republicans also proposes taxing income from scholarships and fellowships, rolling back climate change efforts passed under the Biden administration, and raising taxes on people who can use a free gym in the workplace.

Another proposal outlines changes to the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, which would reduce coverage for some lower income Americans, Newsweek reported.

The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center reported in July that households making about $450,000 or more would receive nearly half of the benefits of the extended tax cuts. The median household income in the US is $80,610, and 95% of American households make less than $400,000 a year.

Biden had promised to extend the tax cuts only for families making $400,000 or less a year.