Here comes the big ugly again
Democrats have uncovered something in the Big Ugly Bill that had been flying under the radar because of potential Medicaid cuts. There’s something else Republicans want to cut: the ACA. Republicans have been trying to repeal this program for years, with no success, so they decided to sneak something into their bill. Democrats noticed and want to call this bill what it is: a repeal of the ACA. Ron Syden (D-OR) said: “They just don’t want to admit it. And the reality is, they use very clever code in order to cut benefits. Senate Republicans need to know that cutting health care is a death sentence for their constituents, and we’re going to be making that case across the land.” The thing is, Republicans don’t care. Their voters are going to care when they don’t have insurance, but they are too blinded by other, unimportant issues to see what’s right in front of their eyes.
While Republicans continue to try to find ways to make the average citizen’s life miserable, Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Chuck Schumer are trying to counteract the potential damage done by this deficit raising bill. The Hill reported that Schumer and Wyden have been discussing strategy with hospitals, providers, insurance companies, labor unions, and advocacy groups to combat the potential cuts to health care coverage. Not only is Medicaid in danger, but cuts to the ACA, while not devastating, will certainly make changes in the way it works. The preexisting protection will remain in place, as will the Medicaid expansion. Democrats understand the bulk of Republican constituents are low-income voters, many of whom will be directly impacted by cuts to Medicaid and proposed changes to the ACA. Republicans have, of course, been dealing with pushback in their own party who don’t agree with the cuts to Medicaid.
Josh Hawley (R-MO) has been particularly vocal about cuts to Medicaid. While other Republicans claim illegal immigrants are getting benefits (they’re not), Hawley said that the people in his state “who are here legally” and are working will lose their health care coverage. Echoing Hawley is West Virginia senator Jim Justice. Interestingly, neither of them cares about the changes being proposed to the ACA, but the Hill wrote that the changes are far less than those they made when they tried to repeal the program. Justice claims that it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the concerns because we have “a president who is trying to move us forward.” More like backward.
In 2025, 24.3 million people enrolled in the ACA, most of which is attributed to populations in red states. If this bill passes, the following changes will be made to the ACA: the end of automatic reenrollment for people receiving subsidies and ending subsidies without proper verification. It will also shorten the open enrollment period and end some of the special enrollment periods. Subsidies will be limited for green card holders unless they are granted asylum, temporary protected status, and those in their Medicaid eligibility waiting period. Overall, the changes to the ACA aren’t that bad, but for those who depend on Medicaid, this bill can be deadly.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years