Trump tax legislation might trigger Medicare cuts if Congress doesn’t act, CBO says
By STEPHEN GROVES
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal funds deficits attributable to President Donald Trump’s tax and spending legislation might set off computerized cuts to Medicare if Congress doesn’t act, the nonpartisan Congressional Price range Workplace reported Friday.
The CBO estimates that Medicare, the federal medical insurance program for People over age 65, might probably see as a lot as $491 billion from 2027 to 2034 if Congress doesn’t act to mitigate a 2010 legislation that forces across-the-board cuts to many federal packages as soon as laws will increase the federal deficit. The newest report from CBO confirmed how Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation might put new strain on federal packages which are bedrocks of the American social security internet.
Trump and Republicans pledged to not reduce Medicare as a part of the laws, however the estimated $3.4 trillion that the legislation provides to the federal deficit over the following decade signifies that many Medicare packages might nonetheless see cuts. Up to now, Congress has at all times acted to mitigate cuts to Medicare and different packages, however it could take some bipartisan cooperation to take action.
Democrats, who requested the evaluation from CBO, jumped on the potential cuts.
“Republicans knew their tax breaks for billionaires would drive over half a trillion {dollars} in Medicare cuts — and so they did it anyway,” mentioned Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, the highest Democrat on the Home Price range Committee, in an announcement. “American households merely can not afford Donald Trump’s assaults on Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare.”
Hospitals in rural elements of the nation are already grappling with cuts to Medicaid, which is offered to individuals with low incomes, and cuts to Medicare might exacerbate their shortfalls.
As Republicans muscled the invoice via Congress and are actually promoting it to voters again residence, they’ve been extremely crucial of how CBO has analyzed the invoice. They’ve additionally argued that the tax cuts will spur financial progress and pointed to $50 billion in funding for rural hospitals that was included within the bundle.
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