CONTACT:
Gwen Pepin
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Springfield, IL — In response to MAGA Republicans plotting drastic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP–vital social services that millions of Illinoisans depend on for survival, the Democratic Party of Illinois released the following statement:
“With Donald Trump’s blessing, House Republicans are pushing a budget that includes the largest cut to health care and food assistance in American history — showing once more that the GOP’s priority will always be Trump’s billionaire backers, not working families. Medicaid and SNAP are vital programs that thousands of Illinoisans rely on for quality, affordable health care and to put food on the table. Republicans need to wake up and realize that they can’t drastically cut those programs without consequences. It is likely their vote or their seat.”
If passed, this bill would have devastating effects on Illinoisans and their families:
Chicago Tribune: House GOP reveals Trump’s tax breaks for tips, overtime and car loans in bill, but costs run high:
- House Republicans revealed the sweeping tax provisions for President Donald Trump’s big bill Monday, tallying at least $4.9 trillion in costs so far, partly paid for with reductions to Medicaid and other programs used by millions of Americans.
- Late Sunday, House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of the package, with at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of the tax breaks.
Springfield State Journal- Register: ‘It just seems so unfair:’ Illinois families brace for possible Medicaid cuts
- For Marilyn Webster of Jacksonville, Medicaid means being able to work, as opposed to probably having to quit her job to look after her 20-year-old daughter, Rebekah, who has autism with high support needs.
- “We just don’t know what’s going to happen, and it just seems so unfair that there are legislators and government officials that are making decisions about these things when they haven’t thought it all through, I don’t think.”
WBEZ: For the 25% of Illinois residents on Medicaid, potential cuts leave them at risk
- Medicaid covers over 80 million Americans, 3.4 million being Illinois residents. Congressional republicans are pushing legislation that would likely lead to significant cuts in federal funding for Medicaid programs around the country. From lost coverage to lost jobs, this might cost us more than we think.
Belleville News-Democrat: Disabled southern Illinois woman fears loss of home if Medicaid funding is cut
- Foushee, 40, is among the thousands of people who use the public health insurance program to pay for long-term, residential care in their communities.
- Medicaid covers a significant portion of the cost of long-term care and other types of community housing. Most nursing homes rely on Medicaid for around 75% of their budget, according to Ron Nunziato, an official from the trade association Health Care Council of Illinois.
- “What are we gonna do?” Foushee said of Medicaid recipients in long-term care. “I can’t move back into my parents’ house; they’re getting older. This place gives me a chance to live a semi-normal life.
Crain’s Chicago Business: Threats to Medicaid expansion funds put focus on Illinois’ ‘trigger law’
- An Illinois law that would automatically initiate massive cuts to Medicaid funding could derail health care in the state if threatened federal cuts to the program come to pass, without legislators even having a chance to respond to the cuts, state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, warns.
- Illinois is one of 12 states in the country with Medicaid trigger laws, and a number of states are considering repealing or modifying these laws to lessen the stark impact on recipients who are part of Medicaid expansions through the Affordable Care Act, Crain’s sister brand Modern Healthcare reports.
- In Illinois, 2024 Medicaid enrollment was more than 3.4 million, with 23%, or about 782,000, being adults who received coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
