Republicans Are Cutting Medicare. Not Only Medicaid, Medicare

[hedda_foil]

https://prospect.org/politics/2025-07-03-republicans-cutting-medicare-not-only-medicaid/

Because of a statutory requirement to automatically impose budget cuts when legislation increases the deficit, the Big Beautiful Bill would require automatic sequestration cuts across the board, something that has been confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) but has been largely absent from the debate over the bill. Medicare is one of the programs that will face the axe, and the damage sums to $490 billion over the next ten years, starting in the next fiscal year that begins in October. While many of the safety-net cuts in the bill are delayed to help Republicans with their re-election campaigns, the Medicare cuts must begin next year.

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010 requires the Office of Management and Budget to keep scorecards that track the cumulative effects of legislation on the budget deficit, based on estimates from the CBO. The Senate version of the Big Beautiful Bill adds roughly $3.3 trillion in debt over the next ten years. That will have to be made up through automatic sequestration cuts.
--snip--
Therefore, OMB would be required to issue an order reducing spending by $330 billion by January 2026. Many accounts are exempted from sequestration, including Social Security and several programs affecting low-income Americans. But Medicare is not.

There is a limitation on Medicare cuts of 4 percent of the program. In fiscal year 2026, that would come out to $45 billion. These cuts would increase with the growth of the program, hitting $75 billion by 2034 according to CBO. The total ten-year cuts would equal $490 billion.

--more--

[gab13by13]

1. This was in the bill from the beginning

I will be 78 this month, I have Medicare and Social Security. I estimate I have 7 years before I lose them.

[Irish_Dem]

10. We have seven years before we lose income and our healthcare?

[Eliot Rosewater]

31. Oh, I'm sure they'll take it faster than that

Don’t expect them not to if all we do is sit here, if all we do is peaceful protests, I’m not saying violence, but I am saying much more aggression is needed.

[Irish_Dem]

33. I agree.

It will happen quicker than 7 years.
And yes they will not stop until they are stopped.

[Bettie]

17. I'm in my late 50's

I'm pretty sure that I and DH will never get either of them....

[OrlandoDem2]

2. Start writing political ads for 2026. Assuming we have elections. Be strong Democrats and take back America!

[gab13by13]

3. GOTV and if we lose, blame ourselves.

Kamala Harris won the last election.

[Silent Type]

16. Dems need to come out with goals, a Project 2026/2028, rather than just criticizing evil GOPers. That just doesn't work

anymore.

[Volaris]

25. Id add that part of thar needs to be a 10 year balanced budget, paid for with raising elons taxes.

If the gop is hellbent on being the party that has abandoned any semblance of fiscal responsibility (the same way they handed us NatSec as a result of DimSons fuckups in Iraq), then by God we should kick them and take off running with it.
Hell, I'd even be willing to eat a 1 or 2 % national sales tax, if it were law that every penny went to paying down the principal on the debt...fuck these dumbasses who are about to find out how badly trump and his GOP Majority fucked them.

[RhapsodyFav]

19. No..

The ads need to start now. Don't wait till elections. Carpet bomb with ads everywhere showing what the bill does and how the "delay" is calculated to take place after the mid-terms. They need to start fighting dirty. Not just keep asking for $ for campaign. No days off, no vacations. Go everywhere and get volunteers to go everywhere constantly.

[uponit7771]

21. THIS !! Define them early and start helping people make plans to live without gov HCI !!!

[Eliot Rosewater]

32. Please go to YouTube and type in "Christopher Titus rigged"

Hate to ruin your day

[Johonny]

4. The economic contraction in this bill is going to

Be amazing. GOP spend billions on things that don't grow the economy. Cutting things that do grow the economy and the bill basically makes it hard to reverse course.

And then there the huge issuing of new debt. Goodbye affordable loans

[underpants]

7. They learned nothing from austerity programs cuts in Europe

They delayed things until after the next election? Jesus.

[Johonny]

11. Not sure everything is delayed

A lot of companies are going to be making moves now. I mean if you work for a rural hospital on the edge and you can move . . . You're moving now or the hospital is going to probably fold anyway. Insurance companies, they will be hiking rates now. Those Treasury notes issued the rest of the year are going to be tougher sells. . . A lot things in the economy are going to react this year in anticipation of the contraction in health care to come.


Meanwhile, every GOPer doing their taxes expecting a big fat cut will find no cut. At best they might tread even. Some will lose out.

Then there are the poison pills, many we don't know to much about.

[roamer65]

26. The Demand Destruction Bill.

That’s what I have been calling it.

Within a year, we are going to be in a debt deflation trap like China.

[littlemissmartypants]

5. Some posters mentioned this earlier in the process.

But it got little attention. Unfortunately.

[CousinIT]

6. "The Medicare cuts put the system on the fast track to oblivion." - last sentence.

Folks, it's just gone. Not immediately, but it will likely be if these cuts take effect. I retire in 3 years, and I'm not sure it will be there even then.

[roamer65]

27. Medicare is going to end up a bare bones catastrophic plan, backing up expensive private supplemental plans.

More socialism for the corporations.

[Irish_Dem]

34. Yes we can assume Trump will hand Medicare will be handed to the vulture billionaires.

Who will make operating costs 80%.

[milestogo]

8. They want us all to die.

Fucking greedy pigs.

[Irish_Dem]

14. Old people cost too much, the billionaires think our money belongs to them.

[SergeStorms]

23. Hey, Billionaires need more and permanent tax cuts.

Just where are your priorities, milestogo?

[Silent Type]

9. Paygo, another Dem enacted law with unintended consequences. Congress usually waives that provision, but doubt it here.

[Ritabert]

13. They put poison pills in the ACA as well

[Fiendish Thingy]

12. Very interesting...

There is a limitation on Medicare cuts of 4 percent of the program. In fiscal year 2026, that would come out to $45 billion.

$45 billion is precisely the amount the ICE budget was increased to pay for construction of the concentration camps and hiring 10,000 new brownshirts.

Hmmmm…

[BoRaGard]

18. Yes. 10,000 more masked republicon gICE-stapo thugs

[AllaN01Bear]

15. i just sent that story to a friend .

double whamy for me .

[Figarosmom]

20. I heard about this last month

So where was the media reporting and pounding on this? Where were the Dems pounding on this? How hard would it have been to add this to their talking about Medicaid?

Well good job press and Dems.

Not just a turbo charged ICE but also our Medicare gets cuts.

[Grim Chieftain]

22. I hope each and every one who voted for this atrocity

suffers the full consequences of their actions. Horrible sociopaths.

[Abstractartist]

24. Ok so do this

If you get sick, go to the ER.. every time. If you have a cold, go to the ER, anything you think is a medical problem… EVERYONE JUST GO TO THE ER. You will see change’s quicker then you think. The down and dirty thing to do is VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS. Retake house and Senate, elect a democrat president, insist on paper ballots and then once the democrats have the house, senate and white house, then pass universal healthcare, social security fund security, etc….

[markodochartaigh]

28. I've heard anecdotal reports

from people on Medicare that some tests and minor procedures which had been previously covered, this year have not been covered. I don't know if this is becoming common or not.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

29. One of their talking points is that whoever predicts negative results...

... is a Democrat. And therefore?

[JohnnyRingo]

30. GOP theme song: "Hope I Die Before I get Old".

Too late, I'm there.

Medicare pays my dialysis at nearly nearly $30,000 a month. How much will they cover next year? Under Medicare Advantage I would have to pay part of that and that's just what they're pushing us to.

Eliquis blood thinner has a $400/month copay, but I guess I've had it too good according to the fucking republicans. It's ironic that I almost have to sell my blood to not have a stroke.

But now Bezos knows he can extend his honeymoon on my dime.