By Ben A. Neiburger, Attorney, Generation Law
Advocacy Alert: Contact Your Members of Congress About Cuts to Medicaid in House Budget Resolution
As a board member of the the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) I am always trying to fight legislation that will unfairly impact the people I have dedicated my life helping.
This week NAELA members received an urgent call to action to oppose the proposed budget scheduled for a vote in Congress. The linked email was sent to all NAELA members, and I want to share it with you as well. It contains instructions how you can help in the fight plus a sample letter that you can use to contact your Representative and Senators. As the House vote might happen as early as tonight (February 25, 2025), we ask that you join us now in taking action. Thank You!
Below is an excerpt from the letter. Please click here to read the entire letter, which contains a sample letter you can use when emailing your members of Congress.
As the House of Representatives returns this week from its Presidents’ Day recess, members will vote on a budget resolution that calls for at least $2 trillion in cuts to government spending, including cuts to Medicaid that could negatively impact older Americans and those with special needs. NAELA is asking you to contact your members of Congress to share how such cuts to Medicaid would affect your clients.
House Budget Calls for Medicaid Cuts
About half of the total cuts-at least $880 billion–would come from the purview of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Medicaid program specifically. Among them are calls to institute work requirements for certain Medicaid beneficiaries to achieve about $100 billion of the total savings needed, according to an analysis by Congressional committees (page 20).
ACA Matching Is the Target
Among the other cuts being considered are eliminating the enhanced federal matching rate for adults who are covered as part of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, yielding $561 billion in savings (page 20), and instituting a per-capita limit on the amount the federal government spends on Medicaid beneficiaries, yielding up to $900 billion in savings (page 21). Eliminating the expansion enhanced matching rate could cause up to 20 million people to lose Medicaid coverage. Placing a per-capita cap on federal funding for Medicaid would be a major departure from the current open-ended federal financing structure. The cap would likely be based on spending in a prior year to be determined and grow according to medical inflation, which has historically not kept pace with growth in Medicaid spending. If this happens, states would have to either reduce their spending on Medicaid or cover any amount of spending above the cap with state funds. With less money coming in from the federal government under either or both of these proposed policies, states will have to make some tough choices between Medicaid and other funding priorities, such as education. As a result, states may feel pressure to reduce or eliminate Medicaid services that are considered optional, such as home and community-based services (HCBS). In the event that your state’s HCBS programs begin to involve lengthy wait lists, or could no longer offer the services currently in place, consider how this would impact your clients.
What Can You Do?
These changes could have a direct impact on the services your people are able to access and their quality of life. We urge you to share how this would impact you and the people you know with your members of Congress.
In addition to sharing your own story, you may also want to include the percentage of residents in your area who rely on Medicaid. You can find that information here.
To find an email address and phone number for your member of the House of Representatives, click here. To find out how to contact your senators, click here.
We encourage you to reach out as soon as possible to your member of Congress before the House vote on Tuesday, February 25. This budget resolution has been endorsed by President Trump, and House Republican leadership is eager to pass it this week.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please contact Mary Lynn Rynkiewicz at the NAELA National Office with any questions.
