Editor, Gazette-Journal:
Among the many federal programs that are under scrutiny by the current administration, Medicaid, which covers 21 percent of the country’s population, is one that is quietly in danger. It is not clear how much Medicaid spending is proposed to be cut.
The House budget proposes to cut $880 billion from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which includes Medicaid, and Medicaid is expected to shoulder most of that. Medicaid is a mostly federally funded program that requires matching funds from the states. Medicaid cost the federal government $606 billion and states $274 billion last year. Virginia currently receives 50 percent of its cost from the federal government, which would be extremely difficult to make up.
Cuts to Medicaid would cause dire consequences to our most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and children. Medicaid covers 7 percent of adults 65 and older, 25 percent of adults 64 and younger with disabilities and...