Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi: Budget debate in Washington ignores the human cost in Illinois

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

The latest political fight over President Donald Trump's self-described 'big, beautiful bill' might seem pretty remote — unless you happen to be one of the millions of individuals who could be affected.
Take one of my constituents who contacted my office just a few weeks ago. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and had been receiving Medicaid. But the cost of treatment was too high, and her family had to sell their home and move into temporary housing to pay for it.
As a result of that move, this person missed her annual redetermination notice to confirm her continued eligibility and was dropped from the Medicaid program. For the past few months, she has been desperately trying to get back on the program but hasn't received a response from federal officials. Now, she is running dangerously low on her lifesaving medications.
After she contacted us, my office reached out to the Social Security Administration to find out why her address wasn't updated and why her appeal for reinstatement wasn't processed more quickly given the nature of her illness. We will continue to press the SSA for answers and quick action.
Multiply this person's experience by 13.7 million. That's the number of Americans who could lose Medicaid under Trump's budget bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In Illinois alone, Medicaid supports the health and economic security of 3.4 million people. Cuts or caps to federal Medicaid funding would force Illinois taxpayers to fill the gap or result in service reductions for everyone.
The Trump budget plan, recently approved by the House on a party-line vote of 215-214, would cut at least $625 billion from Medicaid. But this doesn't nearly pay for the budget's additional tax cuts, which go overwhelmingly to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations. Instead, the bill adds trillions more to the national debt — possibly raising interest rates and bringing on a recession.
Three changes account for most of the Medicaid cuts in the bill: requiring states to implement onerous, unnecessary paperwork and administrative requirements for many recipients; increasing barriers to enrolling in and renewing Medicaid coverage; and limiting states' ability to raise their share of Medicaid revenues through provider taxes.
The bill's supporters say these new paperwork hurdles will reduce waste and fraud in the program. But 58% of Illinois Medicaid recipients already are working, and most of the rest are not able to work due to their own disability or caring for a close family member. Overall, the bill is projected to strip nearly a million Illinoisans on Medicaid of their health care.
These cuts would take a particularly devastating toll on our state's rural residents, whose hospitals and health systems rely heavily on Medicaid patients. Already, eight Illinois rural hospitals are at risk of immediate closure, which will be worsened by the Medicaid cuts in the Trump budget. Those closures would affect the health care of all local residents, regardless of whether they receive their care under Medicaid or private plans.
Already, we are seeing people such as my constituent struggling to keep their eligibility for Medicaid. If the Senate passes Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' there will be a lot more losing their eligibility and being kicked off the program.
With the Senate about to take up the Trump plan, there's still time to remember the faces and families behind the numbers and ask ourselves whether this bill truly reflects our values as Americans.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat, has represented Illinois' 8th Congressional District since 2017.