Congress Took First Step on Medicaid Cuts, But We Can Still Stop Them

There's no way to sugarcoat it. Tuesday night's vote in the U.S. House was a big disappointment. On a vote of 217-215, they passed the "budget resolution" that takes us one step closer to deep Medicaid cuts. It turned out to be a party-line vote, with one Republican from Kentucky switching sides to vote no.

But here's the important thing to understand: This is the start of the process. Congress has several more steps — and votes — before they finalize Medicaid cuts and send them to the president for his signature. The House and Senate still have to agree to a single budget resolution. Then they both have to write a bill with specific Medicaid cuts, vote it out of committee, and bring it up for a vote in the full House and Senate.

In other words, we can still stop — or at least minimize — the Medicaid cuts if we continue to speak out against them. In particular, we need to continue reaching out to Texas GOP Reps. Tony Gonzales and Monica De La Cruz to urge them to oppose the cuts. As we discussed previously, they have both raised concerns about what Medicaid cuts could mean for their districts.

Keep in mind that in Texas, Medicaid serves children, seniors in nursing homes, people with disabilities, and pregnant women. These are the Texans that Congress is targeting if they cut Medicaid — and the loss of Medicaid funding would hit health clinics, hospitals, and other health care providers that we all rely on.

Thank you to everyone who mobilized for this first Medicaid vote. Let's keep up the pressure and stop Congress from cutting our health care!