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Newsweek
5 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Map Reveals States Where Americans Spend Most on Health Care
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Residents of five southern states pay the highest share of their household income on health care, according to data collected by WalletHub. The differences between medical costs across the U.S. largely come down to household income, because as cost of individual health care services vary within each state, the overall costs end up taking a larger percentage out of bank accounts in states where the median income of its residents are lower than others. Why It Matters Health care costs can create significant financial and mental strain on populations and can often lead to people having to file for "medical bankruptcy." The GOP budget proposal, which just passed the House, could lead to over 7 million people having their access to Medicaid impacted—including people in Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Oklahoma—if it becomes law. What To Know The state where the highest share of household income, 18.66 percent, goes to health care costs is Mississippi, followed by Louisiana, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, where the median household pays above 16 percent of their income on essential medical visits and medicine. Maryland residents pay the least percentage of their income, on average, for health care, as health services take up 9.03 percent of household earnings in the state. Mississippi has the lowest average income in the country, at $54,915, meaning health care costs can quickly add up to take up a larger percentage of a household budget. Although Mississippi is the 38th most expensive state to see a doctor in, it is the 12th most expensive state to see a dentist in, and the 16th most expensive state for the heart drug Lipitor, per WalletHub data. The five states where the highest percentage of income goes toward health care costs, are also among eight poorest states in the country. The five states where the lowest percentage of household income goes to seeing a doctor are among some of the richest states in the country. This includes New Jersey, which boasts the highest average earnings in the U.S. Higher wages can often result in better health insurance from an employer, less fear about medical debt and less reliance on state and federal health care services like Medicaid and Medicare. Medicaid activists wait to enter the House Energy and Commerce markup of the Fiscal 2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Medicaid activists wait to enter the House Energy and Commerce markup of the Fiscal 2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Tom Williams/AP Photo How Medicaid Cuts Could Affect Health Care Costs The House-passed GOP budget calls for a reduction of $700 billion in Medicaid spending over the next decade and the implementation of work requirements, which are a mandated 80-hour-per-month community engagement for Medicaid recipients. Proponents of work requirements say they encourage workforce participation, but opponents say that many people on Medicaid already have jobs but they are so low-income that they still qualify for state health care. Approximately one in five Americans are enrolled in Medicaid. Cuts to Medicaid could not only impact those who rely on its services but could also increase health care costs for Americans overall. "Most likely the prices [of health care] will go up because when people lose their health insurance coverage they still need care and few of them have the money to pay the high cost of medical care so each of us have to dig deeper into our pockets to pay for the health care we receive," Gerard Anderson, Professor of Health Policy at Johns Hopkins University, told Newsweek. He also noted that "Medical professionals caring for current Medicaid recipients will feel the greatest impact [of the cuts]," as although payments from Medicaid is not high, it is more than nothing at all which is what they will receive from fully uninsured patients." People losing access to Medicaid could also lead to other issues within the health care complex, including longer wait times. "If people without Medicaid are not able to receive preventive care they will access care in the emergency department, leading to longer wait times for everyone," Jennifer Wolff, Professor of Health Policy at Johns Hopkins University told Newsweek. Anderson also discussed proposed work requirements on Public Health on Call. "This might make sense in theory, but not in practice: If people are able to work, they should be able to get off Medicaid," he said. "But the fact is that many of these people work very low-wage jobs, so they would still qualify for Medicaid. "Many people on Medicaid live in rural areas where there aren't any jobs. In order to get a job, they would need to move to another community, likely in a more affluent area where they can't afford to rent." Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents Louisiana, one of the most costly states for health care in the country, said that the work requirements for Medicaid included in the GOP budget have a "moral component" to them, as they encourage young men to get jobs. One-third of the residents in Johnson's district in Eastern Louisiana are currently on Medicaid. Demonstrators protesting cuts to Medicaid and U.S. Capitol Police officers outside a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2025. Demonstrators protesting cuts to Medicaid and U.S. Capitol Police officers outside a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2025. Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images What People Are Saying Professor of Health Policy at Johns Hopkins University, Gerard Anderson told Newsweek told Newsweek: "[All Americans] will be impacted [by Medical cuts] because the prices for their health care services, and their health insurance premiums will increase. Someone must pay for the services the people without health insurance receive." Professor of Health Policy at Johns Hopkins University, Jennifer Wolff told Newsweek: "Families will incur higher out of pocket costs and/or may need to exit the workplace if Medicaid is no longer able to cover home and community-based long-term care and nursing facility care is not supported by the program." Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Face the Nation: "If you are able to work and you refuse to do so, you are defrauding the system. You're cheating the system. And no one in the country believes that that's right." What Happens Next The proposed GOP budget is heading to the Senate for a vote. If passed via the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump, it has been projected to increase health care costs and possibly impact millions of Medicaid recipients.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers race the clock to finish work on President Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill'
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Several congressional committees are fighting the clock as Republican leadership tries to include all of President Donald Trump's priorities, but some issues could spell disaster for the legislative package. Democrats pushed back all throughout the night as Republicans try to hammer through hundreds of pages of legislative text to make reconciliation a reality. 'We are long past due for identifying and extracting the waste, fraud and abuse that has plagued society,' said Rep. Jim Rose (R-Tenn.). House Energy and Commerce spent much of the night discussing Medicaid, as North Carolina Republican Richard Hudson is concerned about undocumented immigrants getting Medicaid benefits over American citizens, but New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Republicans are trying to cut even more people off from Medicaid. 'So why are they cutting 13.7 million Americans off their health care?' Ocasio-Cortez asked. House lawmakers still have a long way to go as more items need to be considered, and some items have already been shot down by moderate Republicans. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Politico
29-04-2025
- Business
- Politico
Don Bacon sets $500B red line on Medicaid
Rep. Don Bacon, a key GOP moderate, is drawing a red line on Medicaid cuts. The Nebraska Republican has privately told the White House he won't accept more than $500 billion in reductions to the program, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. That could complicate the GOP's effort to pass a domestic policy bill that is set to include an extension of President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts. Bacon has conveyed he wants to limit the changes to Medicaid to implementing the first-ever federal work requirements for the program, excluding noncitizens from eligibility for benefits and mandating more frequent eligibility checks. Bacon confirmed his $500 billion ceiling and the rough outline in a brief interview Tuesday. His concerns speak to the broader complications Republicans face in trying to enact a massive party-line megabill that is also set to include border security, energy policy and other provisions. Moderates are wary of changes that could cut deep into safety-net programs, while conservative hard-liners want to drastically slash them — all with slim margins in the House and Senate. Bacon's vote could be crucial, and other lawmakers share his concerns about Medicaid cuts. If all members currently sworn are present and voting, Speaker Mike Johnson can lose no more than three Republicans on a party-line vote. Two GOP members, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana, voted against a budget blueprint for the bill earlier this month. House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) has said he expects health care provisions to account for as much as $600 billion of the committee's $880 billion savings goal, though not all of that would necessarily come from Medicaid. The panel met Monday evening and privately debated capping federal payments for certain beneficiaries in states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The 2010 law opened up the program to people who have incomes just above the federal poverty line. Rolling back the expansion is more controversial among Republicans than other proposals such as work requirements because it could lead to more significant coverage losses.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Don Bacon sets $500 billion red line on Medicaid
Rep. Don Bacon, a key GOP moderate, is drawing a red line on Medicaid cuts. The Nebraska Republican has privately told the White House he won't accept more than $500 billion in reductions to the program, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. That could complicate the GOP's effort to pass a domestic policy bill that is set to include an extension of President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts. Bacon has conveyed he wants to limit the changes to Medicaid to implementing the first-ever federal work requirements for the program, excluding noncitizens from eligibility for benefits and mandating more frequent eligibility checks. Bacon confirmed his $500 billion ceiling and the rough outline in a brief interview Tuesday. His concerns speak to the broader complications Republicans face in trying to enact a massive party-line megabill that is also set to include border security, energy policy and other provisions. Moderates are wary of changes that could cut deep into safety-net programs, while conservative hard-liners want to drastically slash them — all with slim margins in the House and Senate. Bacon's vote could be crucial, and other lawmakers share his concerns about Medicaid cuts. If all members currently sworn are present and voting, Speaker Mike Johnson can lose no more than three Republicans on a party-line vote. Two GOP members, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana, voted against a budget blueprint for the bill earlier this month. House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) has said he expects health care provisions to account for as much as $600 billion of the committee's $880 billion savings goal, though not all of that would necessarily come from Medicaid. The panel met Monday evening and privately debated capping federal payments for certain beneficiaries in states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The 2010 law opened up the program to people who have incomes just above the federal poverty line. Rolling back the expansion is more controversial among Republicans than other proposals such as work requirements because it could lead to more significant coverage losses.
Politico
29-04-2025
- Business
- Politico
Don Bacon sets $500 billion red line on Medicaid
Rep. Don Bacon , a key GOP moderate, is drawing a red line on Medicaid cuts. The Nebraska Republican has privately told the White House he won't accept more than $500 billion in reductions to the program, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. That could complicate the GOP's effort to pass a domestic policy bill that is set to include an extension of President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts. Bacon has conveyed he wants to limit the changes to Medicaid to implementing the first-ever federal work requirements for the program, excluding noncitizens from eligibility for benefits and mandating more frequent eligibility checks. Bacon confirmed his $500 billion ceiling and the rough outline in a brief interview Tuesday. His concerns speak to the broader complications Republicans face in trying to enact a massive party-line megabill that is also set to include border security, energy policy and other provisions. Moderates are wary of changes that could cut deep into safety-net programs, while conservative hard-liners want to drastically slash them — all with slim margins in the House and Senate. Bacon's vote could be crucial, and other lawmakers share his concerns about Medicaid cuts. If all members currently sworn are present and voting, Speaker Mike Johnson can lose no more than three Republicans on a party-line vote. Two GOP members, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana, voted against a budget blueprint for the bill earlier this month. House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) has said he expects health care provisions to account for as much as $600 billion of the committee's $880 billion savings goal, though not all of that would necessarily come from Medicaid. The panel met Monday evening and privately debated capping federal payments for certain beneficiaries in states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The 2010 law opened up the program to people who have incomes just above the federal poverty line. Rolling back the expansion is more controversial among Republicans than other proposals such as work requirements because it could lead to more significant coverage losses.
