Study Warns Potential Fatal Consequences of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill"
Fresh Take:
The Republican party's upcoming budget reconciliation bill, infamously dubbed "One Big Beautiful Bill," could have a lethal price tag. A recent study reveals that the Medicaid cuts proposed in this bill could spark a healthcare catastrophe, potentially leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths annually.
Researchers from Harvard and other institutions conducted the study, evaluating the health consequences of six GOP-proposed Medicaid cuts, some of which are incorporated in the current bill. They predicted that the bill as a whole will leave millions without a primary care provider, ultimately resulting in over 16,000 more American deaths each year. Far from fostering prosperity for all, these bill provisions will primarily enrich the rich at the expense of the poor and vulnerable, the researchers caution.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts enacted during Trump's first term and implement other administration priorities. To offset the ongoing loss of tax revenue and fund new bill expenditures, including increased defense spending, Republicans have promised cuts to several government-funded programs, primarily Medicaid.
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The researchers scrutinized six of the largest Medicaid cuts proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives' Budget Committee earlier this year, each estimated to chop at least $100 billion in Medicaid expenses over a ten-year span. They also analyzed the May version of the bill, which included three proposals: work requirements for nondisabled adults, the postponement of Biden-era regulations easing Medicaid eligibility, and the freezing of Medicaid provider taxes (which states use to fund Medicaid). They also looked at smaller cuts proposed in the current bill, such as increased cost-sharing for some enrollees.
The Congressional Budget Office previously estimated that the bill would leave around 10 million Americans without Medicaid by 2034 and usher in 7.6 million uninsured altogether. Based on past research showing the impact of losing coverage on healthcare outcomes, the researchers then projected the toll of the bill's Medicaid cuts on Americans' health.
In the most likely scenario, they calculated that 1.9 million Americans would lose their primary care provider; 1.3 million would forgo necessary medications; 1.2 million would end up with medical debt; and nearly 400,000 women would skip their mammograms. Each year, these cuts could also cause around 16,642 preventable deaths, they found (estimates ranged from 8,241 to 24,604 deaths annually).
"The Medicaid cuts currently under consideration in Congress will snatch healthcare from millions of Americans and trigger thousands of preventable deaths, all to finance the tax cuts of the well-heeled," lead author Adam Gaffney, a critical care physician, public health researcher, and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, stated to Gizmodo.
The team's findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday.
The researchers acknowledge that their numbers might understate the actual harm caused by the Big Beautiful Bill. They didn't evaluate other indirect consequences of Medicaid cuts, such as states diverting funds from other programs to cover the funding shortfalls caused by the bill. A separate estimate released this month by Yale and University of Pennsylvania researchers suggests that the bill could lead to over 50,000 deaths annually. The bill may still undergo revisions before reaching Trump's desk for signing.
Regardless, it's evident that Trump's plan to strip healthcare away from millions will sow bloodshed. That these deaths will further subsidize the wealth of the richest Americans while still raising the federal debt is nothing but a further affront to grave injury.
"If Congress passes this law, it is stating quite plainly that the health and lives of the poor matter less than the bank balances of the wealthy," Gaffney remarked.
Enrichment Insights:
- The proposed Medicaid cuts within the Republican reconciliation bill could drive up rates of preventable mortality and morbidity, particularly among vulnerable populations.
- Delays in seeking care or forgoing needed treatments are more prevalent among uninsured individuals, increasing the risk of preventable deaths, especially for those with chronic health conditions.
- Cuts to long-term care services could jeopardize the safety of nursing homes and other providers, potentially leading to inadequate care and putting elderly and disabled Americans at risk.
- Cuts to Medicaid will hit rural and underserved areas hardest, potentially leading to the closure of safety net hospitals and nursing homes.
- Nursing home minimum staffing rules, if repealed, could increase the risk of preventable deaths due to the potential for inadequate staffing levels and poor care quality.
- Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could impact the food security and overall health of low-income Americans.
- The future of millions' health hangs in the balance with the proposed Medicaid cuts in the Republican reconciliation bill, known as "One Big Beautiful Bill."
- The study, conducted by researchers from Harvard and other institutions, predicts that the Medicaid cuts in this bill could lead to over 16,000 unnecessary deaths annually.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is designed to extend the 2017 tax cuts and implement other administration priorities, but its Medicaid cuts could spark a healthcare catastrophe.
- Elon Musk has vocalized his opposition to the budget bill, expressing concern over its potential health consequences.
- The Medicaid cuts under consideration in Congress could result in millions losing their primary care providers, leading to preventable deaths.
- The researchers suggest that the health consequences of these Medicaid cuts could be understated, as they didn't evaluate other indirect consequences, such as states diverting funds from other programs.7.Another estimate by Yale and University of Pennsylvania researchers suggests that the bill could lead to over 50,000 deaths annually.
- The bill may still undergo revisions, but regardless, its impact on the health and lives of the poor is clear, as they could lose their healthcare to subsidize the wealth of the rich.
- Preventable deaths are more prevalent among uninsured individuals, increasing the risk for those with chronic health conditions.
- Cuts to long-term care services could compromise the safety of nursing homes and other providers, putting elderly and disabled Americans at risk.
- Rural and underserved areas could be disproportionately affected by Medicaid cuts, potentially leading to the closure of safety net hospitals and nursing homes.
- Delays in seeking care or forgoing needed treatments due to lack of insurance increase the risk of preventable deaths.
- Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could impact the food security and overall health of low-income Americans.
- The proposed nursing home minimum staffing rules, if repealed, could increase the risk of preventable deaths due to inadequate staffing levels and poor care quality.
- Science and technology, specifically advancements in medical treatments and health-and-wellness therapies, could offer solutions to address the potential fallout from Medicaid cuts.
- Policy and legislation, particularly surrounding car-accidents, fires, crime-and-justice, accidents, and fires, could play a crucial role in mitigating the potential hazards of the bill for vulnerable populations in the future.
