AOC Issues Warning Over Republican Medicaid Plans

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said Republicans are cutting Medicaid in order to hand tax breaks to the rich.

Newsweek has contacted Ocasio-Cortez via email for comment outside of regular working hours.

Why It Matters

Medicaid gives health coverage to some individuals and families—including children, parents, people who are pregnant, elderly people with certain incomes and people with disabilities. Coverage varies widely by state, both in terms of benefits and eligibility criteria.

Congressional committees are going over a wide-ranging spending bill put forward by Republicans. The budget reconciliation bill, which the House of Representatives passed in April, does not directly mention cuts to Medicaid. However, it instructs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over the program, to slash the Department of Health and Human Services’ budget by $880 billion over 10 years.

What To Know

Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Ocasio-Cortez said Republicans were “robbing people in order to hand it over to the rich.”

The budget, dubbed the “big, beautiful bill” by President Donald Trump and his allies, has ordered spending cuts in order to pass through a permanent extension of the president’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was first implemented in 2017, and is set to expire at the end of this year.

Trump has vowed not to cut Medicaid, which provides health coverage for some 72 million Americans.

Several Republican-led proposals in recent months have floated stricter eligibility rules and reduced federal oversight. While proponents have argued such reforms increase efficiency and fiscal discipline, Democrats have contended they pose serious risks to vulnerable populations.

One such proposal—to implement work requirements—could cause between 4.6 million and 5.2 million adults to lose Medicaid coverage in 2026 if the strictures were introduced, according to a report by health care foundation The Commonwealth Fund.

According to a budget blueprint published earlier this year, such a policy would save $100 billion in federal spending over the next decade.

“They’re not just out here to cut health care for health care’s sake, they have an assignment,” the New York representative said. “Their assignment is to cut the taxes of their donors, and to have giveaways to Big Oil, which financed their election, Big Tech, which financed their election, Elon [Musk], [Jeff] Bezos, etc.”

She continued: “In order to do that, you have to gut what is left of the health care and social safety net in the United States. They’re doing it because they have to hand over a bag.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson recently confirmed that two proposals to cut spending have been nixed. Republicans will not be seeking a change to the formula for federal costs paid to states enrolled in the Medicaid expansion program, nor would he push for per capita funding caps on Medicaid funds sent to states.

What People Are Saying

House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this week, per NPR: “Our true and honest intention is to ensure that every Medicaid beneficiary who is in that traditional community of folks, you’re talking about young pregnant mothers and young single mothers and the elderly and disabled, those folks are covered, and no one loses their coverage.”

President Donald Trump said in Michigan on April 29: “We will always protect Medicare and Social Security for our great seniors with no cuts and we will defend Medicaid for those great people that are in need. House Republicans are working to invest more money in Medicaid than we spend today, the only thing we we’re going to cut is the corruption and the corrupts who take advantage of some of the illegal schemes.”

What Happens Next

The House’s Energy and Commerce Committee plans to meet early next week to mark up its portion of the reconciliation bill.