Medicaid and Medicare observed their 61st anniversary on Thursday but the milestone was marked in Pennsylvania with political sparring over their future.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis warned an online gathering that the programs could be hard hit in Pennsylvania with billions of dollars lost due to federal funding cuts signed into law last year.
“The Commonwealth cannot backfill or absorb these cuts," Davis, a Democrat, said during a press briefing hosted by Pennsylvania Health Access Network Thursday.
"As the Medicaid cuts take effect in January of 2027, it is certain that changes will be made to eligibility, quality, and availability of services, and to provider reimbursement rates," Davis said. "This is not something the governor and I voted to do. This is something that Donald Trump and congressional Republicans did to us.”
One of Northeast Pennsylvania's Republican congressmen, meanwhile, replied that the warnings amounted to fear-mongering.
“Another scare tactic from Democrats,” Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Luzerne County) said to WVIA News in a statement. “They're claiming we're taking away people's healthcare, even though Medicaid spending has increased by 10% over the last year."
What is Medicaid and how will it change?
Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health insurance to 78 million Americans including nearly 3 million Pennsylvanians.
Those covered by the program include those with disabilities, low-income families and older adults.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law establishing Medicare and Medicaid, the federal health care programs for older adults, low-income families and people with disabilities, on July 30, 1965.
Last summer, President Donald Trump signed HR-1, also commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, into law, cementing major changes to Medicaid.
Changes to Medicaid in HR-1 implement work requirements, with exemptions for certain groups including pregnant people, individuals with disabilities and caregivers. There will also be more frequent eligibility checks. The majority of those changes go into effect Jan. 1, 2027.
In Pennsylvania, Davis warned those changes could be harmful.
“Our state Department of Human Services, which administers Medicaid here in Pennsylvania, estimates that the Medicaid cuts could strip health care coverage for more than 300,000 Pennsylvanians, as well as drive up healthcare costs and put more than 25 of our rural hospitals out of business," he said.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates Medicaid spending will be reduced by more than $900 billion between 2025 and 2034.
KFF estimates Medicaid spending in rural areas will decline by $137 billion in the next decade, more than the $50 billion HR-1 allocated for the Rural Health Transformation Program. In Pennsylvania, that estimation is a $5.5 billion reduction.
Elected officials on Medicaid changes
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan voted for HR-1, contributing to its passage last summer.
"The facts matter," Bresnahan's statement said. "This is about rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse while protecting Medicaid for the people it's meant to serve. Fearmongering doesn't change the facts, and the American people know better.”
Bresnahan said in June he would fight proposed federal Medicaid rules that advocates say may jeopardize treatment for cancer, HIV and other serious illnesses.
His colleague in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation, Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Allegheny County), bashed his colleagues that voted for the law.
“Those cuts weren't just dangerous and morally bankrupt; they were fiscally reckless to pair with those tax giveaways, and that also happened in Washington against a backdrop of politicians refusing to extend the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare tax credits. And we've now seen the result of that in Pennsylvania, more than 160,000 Pennsylvanians having dropped or lost their health care from Pennie, our health care ACA exchange, because of inaction from the Republican Congress and President, it's hurting lots of folks,” he said during Thursday’s webinar.
Deluzio vowed to work to reverse the changes.
“I'm hopeful I'll have folks in the House and the Senate there along with me,” he said.
75% of participants in WVIA’s voter survey as of July 30 said health care was the most important issue to them heading into this year’s election, second only to cost of living and inflation. Davis reiterated that the state will be unable to accommodate for the projected federal reduction in Medicaid spending.
“The best thing that folks in Pennsylvania can do is elect members of Congress in this upcoming election who are going to stand up for the health care benefits and rights of working class Pennsylvanians and all communities. The reality is, the state cannot backfill any of these cuts,” Davis said.
