Medicaid Cuts in Tax Bill

Several changes to the Medicaid program have been proposed in order to help offset the costs of extending the 2017 tax cuts. States would be required to impose strict work requirements for beneficiaries between the ages of 19 and 64 to prove that they are working, doing community service or participating in an educational program for at least 80 hours per month (exclusions would exist for pregnant women, disabled people and caregivers of dependent children). The bill would also allow states to charge up to $35 per health service for adults who are covered under the ACA Medicaid expansion and earn between 110% and 138% of the federal poverty level and increase the frequency of eligibility checks from once per year to once every six months. Financing restrictions would also restrict states from creating new provider taxes to make up for loss of federal funding and prevent Medicaid for paying for any services at providers that focus primarily on family planning or reproductive health if they provide abortions.

We asked two professors and authors of ALM’s Tax Facts with opposing political viewpoints to share their opinions about the proposed changes to the Medicaid program in the current version of the GOP tax bill.

Below is a summary of the debate that ensued between the two professors.