NPR Consider This: News & Analysis
- The massive budget bill that Senate Republicans are debating pays for some of its tax cuts by slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending.
- Trump insists the cuts come from eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.
- We asked Sarah Jane Tribble, the chief rural correspondent for KFF Health News, what the cuts will mean for rural residents of states like North Carolina — and...
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, amid debate over Republicans’ spending bill.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, amid debate over Republicans’ spending bill.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The massive budget bill that Senate Republicans are debating pays for some of its tax cuts by slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending. The latest report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates nearly 12 million people will lose health insurance if the Senate version of the bill becomes law.
Trump insists the cuts come from eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Democrats have said they break Trump’s promise not to touch Medicaid — and over the weekend, Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina agreed. “What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there anymore?”
We asked Sarah Jane Tribble, the chief rural correspondent for KFF Health News, what the cuts will mean for rural residents of states like North Carolina — and the hospitals that serve them.
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This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Connor Donevan with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata, Nadia Lancy and Scott Hensley. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.