GOP grabs the third rail with Medicare and Medicaid cuts
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Republicans know they are playing with fire by making significant changes to Medicaid. Now GOP senators are eyeing Medicare as well.
Why it matters: Medicare is part of the third rail of politics. Still, some GOP senators think they can find billions in savings without paying a political price.
- "Find me an American who thinks we should have waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare," Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mt.) told reporters.
- "Find me a voter that says that's a good idea."
✅ Trump gave GOP senators a green light on Wednesday to explore ways to save money on Medicare, as Politico first reported.
- "The president is willing to eliminate any waste, fraud and abuse anywhere," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) told us about the White House meeting.
Zoom out: The House-passed bill included hundreds of billions in Medicaid cuts. The CBO estimates those changes would cause at least 11 million Americans to lose their health care coverage.
- A last-minute push from conservatives tried and failed to create even deeper cuts on the Medicaid side, as Axios previously reported. But moderates successfully blocked the attempt.
Zoom in: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) a staunch Medicaid defender, called potential cuts to Medicare a "terrible idea" and "crazy," according to Bloomberg.
- But one possibility is a bipartisan bill from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), which is cosponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and has been supported by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
- It would extract savings from the Medicare Advantage program by clamping down on "upcoding," which supporters say would eliminate incentives to overcharge Medicare.
- Privately, top GOP strategists are worried, convinced that they may be handing Democrats an issue on Medicare to help them improve their standing with senior citizens, who have high turnout in midterm elections.
