Should Congress stop scheduled spending cuts to Medicaid and other programs?
H.R. 1868 is designed to get rid of budget cuts that are scheduled as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act. Due to a rule called “pay-as-you-go”, or PAYGO, Congress can not pass any legislation that would increase the budget deficit or decrease the surplus. Therefore, the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act is set to trigger “budget sequestration”, or spending cuts, to government programs. The PAYGO spending cuts would primarily affect Medicaid. The bill also extends a separate moratorium on budget cuts to Medicaid that was first passed as part of the CARES in March 2020.
Sponsor: Rep. John Yarmuth (Democrat, Kentucky, District 3)
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How do you feel?
Opponents say
• "Total public debt is expected to nearly equal the size of the economy this year and to exceed it next year for the first time since the 1940s. The CBO predicts that the public debt will surpass the previous record set in 1946—106 percent of GDP—by 2023… Some economists fear that the United States will become stuck in a ‘debt trap,’ with high debt tamping down growth, which itself leads to more debt." Source: James McBride, Andrew Chatzky, and Anshu Siripurapu (Researchers for the Council of Foreign Relations)
Proponents say
• "Congress has provided much-needed assistance to health care providers in the form of Medicare sequester relief through March 2021. This relief helped to improve what was, and continues to be, the relatively dire financial outlook for many hospitals and health systems. However, additional relief is needed. Congress should pass legislation to extend the moratorium on the Medicare sequester cuts so that hospitals and health systems can continue to care for patients, families, and communities." Source: The American Hospital Association