President
Trump’s 2020 budget proposal aims in cutting the budget for Medicare, Medicaid and
Social Security. During President Trump’s
2015 campaign he promised to not touch Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Medicare Part D is the only area of these reforms that could
raise out-of-pocket drug prices for some while lowering it for others.
Otherwise, premiums, deductibles, and co-pays would largely be left not touched.
This budget proposes finding $845 billion in savings over 10 years from
Medicare as we know it. But $269 billion of that figure is reclassified under
the Department of Health and Human Services, bringing the Medicare cuts to $575
billion.
Medicaid reforms include adding work requirements and
repealing Medicaid expansion and one of the most successful policies within the
Affordable Care Act. Medicaid expansion reduced the uninsured rate by more than 6 percent
in states that enacted the policy; it continues to
show better health outcomes and is popular in conservative states. The
Medicaid budget cuts amount to $1.5 trillion over 10 years, but looked at in
the context of the new block grant as well the work requirements and ACA cuts, the
cuts round out to about $777 billion — which could leave millions more
uninsured.
Social Security continues to be on the attack, including to a
program that gives assistance to those who have disabilities that prevent them
from being in the workforce. In all, the cuts to Social Security amount to $25
billion over the next 10 years, cutting roughly $10 billion from the Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, which the administration says
will be found through cutting down on fraud — a common
conservative talking point.
About OrionNet Systems
OrionNet is an Oklahoma small business founded in 2001. OrionNet
has designed, developed and supported applications created both for the
client-server and web environments, as well as developing, marketing and
supporting a commercial application for the counseling centers industry.
Visit the OrionNet Systems’ website, www.iorion.com,
or their social media pages, https://twitter.com/ThinkHealth & https://www.facebook.com/pages/OrionNet-Systems/139352156150090
for more information.
|