Sen. Cassidy Says Trump Won’t ‘Cut Benefits’ For Medicaid

Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) clarified one of President Trump's plans that has worried people on Medicaid/Medicare, especially in Louisiana.

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Medicaid VS Medicare And Why It Matters In Louisiana

Medicaid and Medicare are terms thrown around a lot, but not everyone understands what these programs are or what makes them different. Medicare is a federally funded program that provides health insurance to anyone over 65 years old, a few other things can qualify you for Medicare if you're under the age.

Medicaid on the other hand is jointly funded, meaning both states and the federal government put money into the program which gives people on a limited income access to health insurance.

As simple as possible, Medicare is health insurance for elderly people and the federal government pays for it while Medicaid is health insurance for people who can't afford it otherwise, and the federal government and your state pay the costs.

Medicaid and Medicare are vital resources in Louisiana. Reports from 2023 said that nearly half of residents in the state were enrolled in Medicaid.

DOGE Federal Cuts Raise Eyebrows

Since January when President Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency and named Elon Musk as the department's lead, they've had the stated focus of cutting back on federal spending to fight the ever-growing national debt.

One key place President Trump and Senior Advisor Musk have sought, and fought, to cut spending is in the Medicaid and Medicare programs. It makes sense for these programs to be considered for cutbacks as Medicare costs the federal government approximately $839 billion a year.

The move to cut these programs has been met with controversy as people worry what might happen if spending is cut in the program, as people who would otherwise be unable to afford medical treatment would now be left without an affordable way to healthcare.

Louisiana Need Not Worry About Medicare

Louisiana Senator and Doctor of Medicine Bill Cassidy understands the worry felt by many, which is why he was quick to clarify what the President's plans actually are for Medicare.

Sen. Cassidy was on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' and was asked how the programs are intended to continue operation if other DOGE spending cuts pull back the funding Medicare gets, his answer was relieving to many, "[Trump]'s saying don't cut benefits to beneficiaries."

"If we can't go to the fed gov and say we can do something more efficient, then you're just not looking." - Sen. Cassidy

Cassidy explained that cuts to the programs would not be cutting the funding of what benefits people receive, but instead auditing the programs to find what funding is being misused, or could be better spent elsewhere.