California could be in for some big cuts to health care for low-income families under a second Trump administration, according to health experts.
Policy specialists at the nonprofit KFF said they are bracing for Trump allies in Congress to make major reductions to Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, in order to pay for big tax cuts promised by the president-elect.
Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy at KFF, said it would force states to backfill or raise costs.
“For the ACA, simply letting enhanced financial aid expire after next year would result in big out-of-pocket premium increases, reduced enrollment and more people uninsured,” Levitt projected.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s choice for Health and Human Services Secretary, did not say much on the campaign trail about funding for Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act, so his positions are unclear. Kennedy has expressed skepticism about vaccines and has said the U.S. should stop putting fluoride in drinking water.
Jennifer Kates, senior vice president and director of the Global Health and HIV Policy Program for KFF, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot require states to follow its recommendations on vaccines and fluoridation.
“That’s up to states and local governments,” Kates explained. “But CDC can recommend, and if those recommendations are not being made or being watered down or changed, that sends a message to states, to schools, to parents.”
Health advocates are also raising concerns DACA recipients could lose access to health plans sold on the state marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act. Changes to so-called “public charge” rules could make families with mixed immigration status hesitant to use Medicaid benefits.
