Dive Brief:
Potential cuts to Medicaid under consideration by congressional Republicans are broadly unpopular, including with people who voted for President Donald Trump, according to a recent survey by a GOP pollster.
More than 50% of surveyed Trump voters oppose cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts, and two-thirds of surveyed swing voters said they’re against slashing the safety-net program, according to the survey conducted by the firm of Tony Fabrizio, who ran polls for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Many voters have personal connections to Medicaid too. Nearly half said they’re currently covered by the program, have previously received Medicaid or had family enrolled in the insurance. About 1 in 5 Trump voters are, or have been, on Medicaid.
Dive Insight:
Republicans are mulling cuts to the safety-net insurance program, which covers 80 million Americans along with the Children’s Health Insurance Program, to balance out Trump’s promised tax cuts, as well as increases in defense and border security spending.
Early this year, the House advanced a budget blueprint that calls for the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, to find $880 billion in savings. That target is likely impossible to hit without cutting major healthcare programs, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The Senate advanced its own budget resolution earlier this week, which preserves the $880 billion target — though it calls for far fewer spending reductions than its House counterpart. Still, lawmakers declined to strike the $880 billion cut from the final resolution during a marathon of votes on potential amendments.
Republicans have said the cuts will target waste, fraud and abuse. However, some GOP lawmakers, including Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have raised concerns about reducing funds for Medicaid, noting their constituents rely on the program.
Plus, the decision to move ahead with cuts to the safety-net insurance cuts could be a politically significant one, according to the poll conducted by Fabrizio Ward, which surveyed 1,000 registered voters nationwide late last month.
“Our recent survey shows there is no appetite across the political spectrum for cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts,” pollsters Fabrizio, Bob Ward and John Ward wrote. “Medicaid is well-liked by most voters, in large part due to the broad impact it has across the electorate and the high level of importance voters place on as many Americans as possible having health insurance.”
Nearly all voters said it was important that as many Americans as possible are covered by health insurance, including 87% of Trump voters. Three in four survey respondents view the program favorably overall.
Additionally, voters were opposed to cutting other aspects of Medicaid, including reductions to CHIP, funding for long-term support services or nursing home care, and assistance for low-income seniors paying Medicare premiums.
