Proposed Medicaid cuts could affect 2 million Georgians

As U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville) presses for tax cuts, his colleague from across the aisle, Atlanta Democrat Nikema Williams, says a GOP-led resolution passed Tuesday to keep the government open and trim spending could ultimately impact 79,845 children and more than 25,000 seniors covered by Medicaid in her district.

The majority of Medicaid’s spending is on long-term and nursing home care for seniors, totaling $339 billion in 2021, KFF found. The program also insures 80% of children living below the poverty line, according to KFF.

And that’s more or less how Medicaid works in Georgia, which insures 2 million Georgians, 12% of whom are children enrolled in Medicaid’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. Georgia seniors living in nursing homes are also a major recipient, with 72% of them covered by Medicaid, KFF said.

Spending on seniors and those with disabilities makes up 55% of total Georgia Medicaid outlay. In South Carolina, that number is 54%, while North Carolina (64%), Alabama (66%), and Florida (78%) trend higher, KFF said.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced in January that he would seek federal approval to allow parents and legal guardians of children age 6 and younger to qualify for Medicaid. State Sen. Sally Harrell, D-Atlanta, said caregivers of older adults should also be included, the AJC reported.

KFF says Medicaid is so widely used by Americans of all political persuasions that lawmakers should tread carefully.

“This isn’t a red-state, blue-state issue,” Alice Burns, the study’s co-author, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It affects families in nearly all states.”

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Burns said that when the House passed a budget resolution instructing the House Energy & Commerce Committee to reduce the federal deficit by at least $880 billion over 10 years, it was widely expected that most of those cuts would come from Medicaid given that the committee oversees the program.

“In order to finance the tax cuts, they would need to cut at least 10% of the Medicaid spending,” Burns told the AJC, and wrote in a piece on KFF’s website. “That would put states in a difficult position: They will need to ask, will we raise taxes, or cut benefits?”

Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus said in an op-ed piece published Monday on Foxnews.com that Medicaid isn’t sustainable in its current form; is one factor leading to an ever-growing national debt; and should be a centerpiece of DOGE cuts led by billionaire Elon Musk.

AARP research says the average family caregiver spends around $7,200 per year out of pocket on caregiving expenses, but that number can jump astronomically for long-term care, and often does not account for caregivers’ lost wages.

Average nursing facility rates exceed $100,000 per year, full-time home health aide costs near $70,000 and round-the-clock home health care costs $300,000 per year, according to a New York state report looking at costs there and across the nation.

Medicare and Medicaid spending alone is projected to rise by about 45% after accounting for inflation over the next decade, the Bipartisan Policy Center found.

That’s partly because the U.S. population overall is expected to trend older, and more Americans will require medical care. A declining birth rate among Americans, and Trump administration measures to cut inward migration, could exacerbate the situation.

There are currently roughly 62 million adults ages 65 and older living in the U.S., accounting for 18% of the population. By 2054, 84 million adults in that age group will make up an estimated 23% of the population, Pew Research Center said.