Late Sunday night the House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Committee released the text of their reconciliation bill. It shows that the House majority intends to carry out the largest cut to Medicaid ever by drowning Americans in red tape, fees, and paperwork. The bill would force 8.6 million Americans to lose their Medicaid coverage and an additional 5.1 million to lose their healthcare access due to proposed changes to Affordable Care Act coverage. As the number one provider of coverage for people living with HIV in America and a major contributor to equitable PrEP access, this attack on Medicaid will have devastating consequences for people living with HIV and those seeking to prevent HIV in the first place.

Advocates across the nation are sounding the alarm: This assault on Medicaid will hurt Americans from all walks of life and dramatically worsen the HIV epidemic. For a list of ways to get involved, scroll to the bottom of this email.

Here is what we know about what is being proposed (also see Families USA’s Section by Section summary).  The bill:

• Creates paperwork barriers and multiple unnecessary checks to Medicaid eligibility
• Forces excessive screening requirements for providers
• Limits funding for immigrants and reduces federal funding matches for states that allow immigrants easier access to healthcare 
• Prohibits funding for gender affirming care for minors
• Bans funding for family planning/abortion services
• Sunsets increased federal matching for states for new Medicaid expansion states
• Requires most Medicaid eligible individuals to prove “community engagement” (translation: “Work requirements” – Lots of unnecessary red tape and paperwork)

And the bill doesn’t stop at Medicaid– it also takes aim at Affordable Care Act provisions that help people access healthcare through private insurance. 

Remember that this avalanche of new fees and big government oversight is being proposed in order to give huge tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. A preliminary score from the Congressional Budget Office estimates that this bill will slash over $700 billion from Medicaid. 

Tell your representatives in Congress, “No cuts to Medicaid can be included in any reconciliation bill.” Call your Member of Congress and ask them to protect Medicaid by voting no on the budget resolution: 866-426-2631. If you don’t know your member of Congress, find them here (and their contact info) or check out the 5Calls Medicaid alert. 

And please consider other actions this week:

Check out our template “letter to the editor” on Medicaid and the impact on HIV

Take part in AIDS United’s action alert this week

Check out several resources on Families USA’s Defending Medicaid homepage: https://familiesusa.org/defending-medicaid/