Medicaid

“Charities that help people cover their medical bills say they’re seeing an alarming increase in requests for help.

“In early 2023, Rebecca Smith was two months sober and looking for help. Her addiction to methamphetamines had cost her custody of her children, and she’d moved back home to Graham County, North Carolina, to rebuild her life. High cholesterol and heart problems ran in her family, and during her struggle with addiction she had been diagnosed with diabetes. She knew that staying sober would require taking better care of herself.

“A federal watchdog reported last week that Georgia’s program requiring able-bodied adults to document low-paying work to get Medicaid has spent much more on administrative costs than on providing health care.

“In pushing deep Medicaid cuts through Congress this year, President Trump and his Republican allies did not just squeeze a program that pays doctors and hospitals to provide poor people health care.

“Republicans insist that President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid were aimed at reducing fraud and getting more of its adult beneficiaries into jobs. But the side effects may include less care for sick kids.

“The Trump administration is taking its immigration crackdown to the health care safety net, launching Medicaid spending probes in at least six Democratic-led states that provide comprehensive health coverage to poor and disabled immigrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status.

“An influential group of House Republicans has invited a chief architect of the hard-right push for deep Medicaid spending cuts to brief congressional aides Thursday as GOP leaders quietly map out a possible second party-line reconciliation package.