Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) reacted to a report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showing that several Republican-backed Medicaid policy options could result in millions of Americans losing health coverage.
"Told ya" Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a post on X, reiterating that Republican efforts to cut the budget will end up cutting Medicaid spending, something she had addressed in a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup meeting the previous week.
Told ya https://t.co/DJV7H9SmYw
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 7, 2025
The CBO's estimates, requested by top Democratic lawmakers, project significant coverage losses under a variety of options reportedly under consideration by Republicans. For starters, the analysis says that per capita caps for the Medicaid expansion population would save $225 billion in federal spending and result in 1.5 million more uninsured people by 2034.
The findings also reveal that reducing the federal share of Medicaid funding for expansion states could result in 5.5 million people losing coverage while capping federal Medicaid spending in those states could cut coverage for 3.3 million people. Elsewhere, repealing a Biden-era enrollment policy could remove 2.3 million from the program, while changes to state financing mechanisms could result in 8.6 million losing Medicaid.
During las week's remarks, AOC had questioned Republican assurances that Medicaid coverage would remain intact under proposed reforms, drawing parallels to past political promises:
"We heard that we should take your word that Medicaid will be protected — that we should trust you that no one is going to be affected by this. But as a woman, the word was given that my rights would not be taken away by the Supreme Court — and that wasn't true. As an American, the word was given that our First Amendment protections would apply to everyone, including green card holders and people who are lawfully here in this country. That didn't turn out to be true"
AOC: We heard that we should take your word that Medicaid will be protected — that we should trust you that no one is going to be affected by this. But as a woman, the word was given that my rights would not be taken away by the Supreme Court — and that wasn’t true. As an… pic.twitter.com/gQy0KS2Wjz
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 29, 2025
AOC's comments were made in support of an amendment to a GOP bill, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services to study the impact of reduced Medicaid expansion funding or decreased enrollment. At the time, the committee was preparing to identify $880 billion in savings to help fund legislation aligned with former President Donald Trump's agenda, targets that would likely necessitate cuts to Medicaid.
Upon the release of the estimates by CBO, Republican members of the Energy and Commerce Committee accused Democrats of "fear monger[ing]" in a post on X:
While Democrats fear monger, Republicans are planning to strengthen, sustain, and secure Medicaid for generations to come. @HouseCommerce Republicans are rooting out the waste, fraud, and abuse to ensure Medicaid funds go to those who truly need it—mothers, children, seniors, and…
— Energy and Commerce Committee (@HouseCommerce) May 7, 2025
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
