Speaker Johnson Defends Tax Bill Changes To Medicaid, SNAP As ‘Moral’
House Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview Sunday that, "If you are able to work and you refuse to do so, you are defrauding the system." He continued: "So there's a moral component to what we're doing" with Medicaid work requirements. He also said states need to shoulder more of the costs of SNAP to be more invested.
CBS News:
House Speaker Mike Johnson Says Medicaid Work Requirements In Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Have A 'Moral Component'
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who shepherded President Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" through Congress, said Sunday that the Medicaid work requirements — which could affect his home state of Louisiana — have a "moral component" to them because people on Medicaid who "refuse" to work are "defrauding the system." "If you are able to work and you refuse to do so, you are defrauding the system," Johnson said Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." "You're cheating the system. And no one in the country believes that that's right. So there's a moral component to what we're doing. And when you make young men work, it's good for them, it's good for their dignity, it's good for their self-worth, and it's good for the community that they live in." (Linton, 5/26)
The Hill:
House GOP's SNAP Changes Defended By Speaker Johnson
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defended the House GOP’s proposed changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on Sunday, arguing that states will better administer food stamp benefits if they have to shoulder more of the costs. “The states are not properly administering this because they don’t have enough skin in the game,” Johnson told CBS’s Margaret Brennan in an interview on “Face the Nation.” (Crisp, 5/25)
Post-Tribune:
As State, Federal Medicaid Cuts Loom, Hoosiers Anxious About Impact
Jordan Musenbrock, 35, said Medicaid helped pay for her manual wheelchair and its repairs, shower chair, catheters and multiple medications. Musenbrock, who has been wheelchair-bound since she was 17 years old following a car accident, said without Medicaid she will have to choose between a drastic decline in health, even death, or financial hardship. (Kukulka, 5/26)
KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’ Podcast:
Bill With Billions In Health Program Cuts Passes House
With only a single vote to spare, the House passed a controversial budget bill that includes billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy, along with billions of dollars of cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the food stamp program — most of which will affect those at the lower end of the income scale. But the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate. (Rovner, 5/23)
KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’:
Journalists Talk Medicaid Cuts And New Limitations On Weight Loss Drugs And Covid Shots
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed Medicaid cuts in the House budget bill on CBS News on May 22. Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed weight loss drugs and covid-19 vaccines on CBS’ “CBS Mornings” on May 22 and May 21, respectively. (5/24)
Politico:
Dems Roll Out Ads Hitting Republicans On Medicaid
Democrats are preparing to launch an ad war against Republicans over President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” House Majority Forward, the nonprofit affiliated with House Democratic leadership and House Majority PAC, will start running digital ads next week attacking House Republicans voting to cut Medicaid spending, according to a spokesperson for the group. The ads will appear in 25 battleground districts in California, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin. (Schneider, 5/23)
