Here's how much states will lose from the Medicaid cuts in the Senate healthcare bill
The Senate Republicans' plan to repeal and replace Obamacare could have a big impact on the healthcare funding states receive.
The Senate's plan, like the one passed by the House of Representatives in May, dismantles many of the provisions of Obamacare, as well cutting funding to the Medicaid program. Those cuts, if the bill becomes law, could hit some states more than others.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the plan - titled the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) - would result in 22 million fewer people insured by 2026 than the current healthcare system. Cuts to Medicaid would reach $772 billion by 2026.
Here's what those cuts would look like at a state-by-state level by 2026, as analyzed by healthcare consulting firm Avalere.
The states that will see the biggest reduction in funding are those that opted into the Medicaid expansion.
Under Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, states were eligible to expand their Medicaid programs - providing health insurance to low-income people. For states that opted into the expansion, people whose household incomes were up to 138% of the federal poverty level could qualify for coverage.
Under the BCRA, that expansion would be phased out, meaning those who gained coverage through the expansion would be without once again, though they could access coverage through the individual insurance market.
The CBO said that it does not expect many of those who fall out of Medicaid eligibility under the BCRA to purchase insurance "because of the expense for premiums and the high deductibles" for individual market plans.
As of 2017, 31 states and Washington, D.C.had adopted the Medicaid expansion.
