Proposal to Slash Medicaid and CHIP

Slashing support by up to $880 billion, as Republican budget numbers demand, would have a big impact—on health, education, and our economy. 

Every Student Would be Impacted

• Medicaid helps pay for school-based services that benefit the entire student population—health care, as well as educators’ salaries and the services of professionals like nurses, psychologists, and audiologists. 
• Studies show that children covered by Medicaid miss fewer school days, are more likely to attend college, and earn more as adults.

State Budgets Would Take a Big Hit

• Medicaid is the fourth-largest funding stream for K-12 public schools.
• Each year, Medicaid provides $7.5 billion for services for students with disabilities—physical therapy, transportation, specialized equipment, and more.
• Slashing federal support for Medicaid would not lower costs—it would merely shift them to states that already struggle to provide special education services legally required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• Fifty years ago, when IDEA was first passed, Congress promised to cover 40% of the cost of special education services. We’re nowhere close—the federal share has dwindled to less than 12%.

Rural Students Would be Hit Especially Hard

• Medicaid plays a critical role in meeting students’ needs in rural districts, where Medicaid covers a larger share of children than in metropolitan areas and schools play an outsize role in providing health care.
• Health care providers are in short supply in rural areas, and many hospitals have closed or no longer offer essential services like maternity care—problems that slashing federal Medicaid support would only exacerbate.

Potential Cuts—And Consequences

• The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that the House GOP’s $880 billion cut could not be achieved without major changes in Medicaid—work requirements, for example, would reduce federal Medicaid spending by only about $109 billion. 
• Slashing federal support for Medicaid would mean fewer health services for fewer people, more hospital closures, and less support for the 7.5 million students with disabilities in public schools—15% of the student population.  
• Find out more about the impact in your school district, congressional district, and state.