Congress should be prepared for a fight if it plans to pass a budget resolution that includes a significant reduction in Medicaid funding, AARP says.
The seniors’ organization has indicated it will resist a budget resolution that includes cuts like the ones the House recommended in its budget proposal last month. However, it would not necessarily opposed programmatic changes, according to the newspaper The Hill.
Congress should ask, “What’s a reasonable change in the program that’s going to save money?” according to Ridge Multop, AARP’s senior legislative representative. Multop said the group is already lobbying Senate budget conferees.
So far, it is unclear how the two houses will resolve their budget differences. Last month, the House passed a proposed budget that included a reduction in federal funding for programs, including Medicaid, by $69 billion over five years. The Senate also passed a proposed budget that included an amendment restoring $14 billion in federal funds to Medicaid over five years. The amendment also called for the establishment of a commission to study Medicaid reform.
