Cuts to Medicaid would affect access to reproductive care for millions of women
Two-thirds of the 70 million Americans enrolled in Medicaid are women of reproductive age, between the ages of 19 and 49.
According to reporting by The New York Times, the White House has been brainstorming strategies to encourage Americans to have more children. At the same time, House Republicans passed the blueprint for a budget resolution in early April that could result in cuts to Medicaid, the largest single payer for maternity care in the United States.
Medicaid is a joint state and federal program that provides health insurance coverage to over 72 million Americans and covers 75% of publicly funded family planning services, including affordable access to birth control as well as testing and screening for sexually transmitted infections and breast and cervical cancer.
Nearly 24 million people enrolled in Medicaid are adult women, 13 million of whom are of reproductive age, 19 to 49. Medicaid covers 41% of all births in the U.S. and is vital in preventing maternal death by making prenatal and postpartum care available to enrollees.
“I think Medicaid is really the primary source of reproductive health care for millions of women, particularly low-income women, women of color, young adults,” Kierra B. Jones, a senior policy analyst for the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress, told the American Independent.
Before being elected to office the second time, President Donald Trump vowed to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Even though the new budget bill doesn’t specifically mention Medicaid, it would require that the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees the program, make cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ budget totaling $880 billion over 10 years.
According to NBC News, some House Republicans have suggested lowering the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP), the percentage of Medicaid funding paid for by the federal government. FMAP rates vary by state based on per capita income. In most states, FMAP is a 50%-50% match: The federal government pays half and the state pays the other half. In lower-income states, however, the federal share of Medicaid funding can be as high as 83%. Reducing the FMAP would result in states paying more.
“When we’re thinking about the importance of Medicaid, it offers access to affordable lifesaving care for many, many women and birthing people across the country,” Jones said. “So any cuts to the program could be devastating, whether that’s through work requirements or whether that’s through reduction in the FMAP — that could be really devastating for the program and for people.”
Anna Pacilio, who handles executive communications for Reproductive Freedom for All, said that the president of the organization, Mini Timmaraju, has been speaking at town halls across the country and that attendees have been vocal in their support for protecting Medicaid.
“I think that pressure is really starting to kick in, because we saw a lot of people turn out from Republican and Democratic sides to talk about how this access to care on such a basic level really affects them,” Pacilio said. “So this really feels like a gut punch to American people across the political spectrum.”
Pacilio said the organization is encouraging those at the town halls to call their state representatives if they want to keep Medicaid coverage: “This is a much bigger issue of access to care that I think people are starting to anticipate and see and worry how it’s going to affect them in their rural community.”
According to polling by KFF, 53% of U.S. adults said that either they or a family member were using Medicaid insurance, including 44% of those surveyed who voted for Trump.
Americans on both sides of the political aisle and voters living in rural areas not only support keeping Medicaid, but 42% said the program should be expanded. Fewer than one in five people polled supported cuts to Medicaid, KFF reported.
“I think it just bears repeating that it covers a huge portion of an incredibly expensive service in the country,” Jones said. “I think that’s a huge issue, also just recognizing that Medicaid is a really important way not only for people to get sexual and reproductive health care, but also just health care in general. A lot of people use that — that is their primary source of health care. And so sometimes their first stop at a reproductive health provider is also primary care as well.”
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson wants a bill on the president’s desk by Memorial Day, according to Politico.
