The politics of the party have shifted, with more of the GOP base reliant on welfare programs. But policy hasn’t followed.
More Medicaid enrollees are voting Republican — a result of President Donald Trump’s success in wooing lower-income voters. So, why did the GOP slash deeply into the health insurance program in its megabill?
Three reasons: Republicans desperately needed money to avoid a big tax increase next year, they wanted to claw back Biden-era policies GOP lawmakers say led to lax eligibility checks and more fraudulent benefit claims and they wanted to curb the Medicaid expansion enacted by then-President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats in the Affordable Care Act.
The bill targets unsustainable spending by adding work requirements and restricting tools states use to get more federal dollars, not the benefits of people who really need them, Republicans said.
“We secured Medicaid for those who need it most: mothers, children, seniors and people with disabilities,” said Kentucky’s Brett Guthrie, who crafted the Medicaid provisions in the House. “Democrats continue to fearmonger and misrepresent what is in this bill.”
The Republican base now includes more working-class and low-income people, many of whom receive their health insurance through Medicaid. But the traditional sentiment of many Republican lawmakers toward the social safety-net program — that it provides handouts on taxpayers’ dime — has largely remained the same.