July 7, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: It would be hard for anyone to not be aware of the tax bill that was just signed into law by President Trump. As details of the final bill make clear, the Republicans in Congress voted for a bill that will raise the deficit by almost $4 trillion over 10 years, give generous tax cuts to rich people, and eventually eliminate health care for millions of Americans. Let’s look at that last part more closely.
The bill mandates work requirements for many folks on Medicaid and dramatically reduces the amount of money that states receive from the federal government for Medicaid reimbursements. It also makes significant changes to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), shortening the enrollment period and reducing the amounts of subsidies that individuals get to offset their premiums. Republicans have repeatedly claimed that they are not taking away anyone’s health care but only eliminating waste and fraud in the Medicaid and ACA programs.
Here’s the interesting part. The Republicans also made sure that the cuts to Medicaid and ACA do not take effect until December of 2026. Now why would that be? If you are really interested in eliminating waste and fraud, why wouldn’t you start doing so immediately instead of waiting for 18 months? Oh wait! The midterm elections are in November of 2026! So voters will not see these drastic changes to their health care until they have voted in the next election. And the Republicans can hope to win one more election before the people they represent find out exactly how devastating these cuts will be for folks who rely on these programs. PATRICIA HIGGINS Lexington
