Republicans are considering slashing Medicare—the health care program for seniors—to help pay for massive tax breaks that mostly benefit the wealthy.
Faced with a budget hole created by a $5 trillion tax-and-spending package, GOP lawmakers are looking at ways to cut spending. One of their targets? Medicare.
Some Senate Republicans say they’re exploring so-called “inefficiencies” in Medicare to find savings. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said after a meeting with Donald Trump, “The president indicated waste, fraud and abuse is a permissible target. Part of the issue has to do with abuse in Medicare Advantage.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) added that the GOP was discussing “upcoding,” a trick used by insurance companies in Medicare Advantage to inflate diagnosis codes and bill taxpayers more. “It was brought up in the Monday meetings,” Grassley said, but admitted he didn’t know where Trump stood on it.
Still, others in the party are warning against touching Medicare, even indirectly. “There’s been some discussion. I think the general consensus is it’s off the table,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).
But the fact that it’s even being discussed has set off alarm bells.
“For Republicans to even suggest Medicare be cut to bankroll billionaire tax breaks is frightening and revolting,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate floor.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) issued a blunt warning: “If Republicans go after Medicare, they’ll never win another election again. After George W. Bush tried to privatize Social Security in 2004, Republicans didn’t win the popular vote for 20 years. Let that sink in.”
Democrats have long argued that instead of cutting benefits for seniors or the poor, lawmakers should crack down on wasteful practices by insurance companies. “This practice by private, for-profit insurance companies leads to wasteful spending in Medicare, picking the pockets of seniors and taxpayers,” said a group of more than 40 Democrats in a May letter to GOP leaders.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting inside the GOP to find even deeper cuts. Some conservatives in the Senate want to go beyond the $1.7 trillion in cuts already included in the House version of the bill. Their goal: slash more government programs to pay for the tax breaks.
Even billionaire Elon Musk jumped in, blasting the bill on X. “The Big Ugly Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion!” he posted. He called the legislation an “abomination” and told Republicans to scrap it.
The math isn’t working for Senate Republicans. Some of their own members want to undo parts of the House bill that cut food aid, Medicaid, and renewable energy programs. Others want to make big corporate tax cuts permanent—something that would cost even more.
Despite the chaos, some Republicans are still optimistic. “We just started our conversation yesterday, we’re just diving into it,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). “Everything’s on the table.”
Including Medicare.
