Speaker Johnson Is Eyeing Big Cuts to Medicaid

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

When Desoto Regional Health System took out $36 million in loans last year to renovate a rural hospital that opened in 1952, officials were banking on its main funding source remaining stable: Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for low-income people and the disabled.

Posted by LampLighter at 06:32 PM | 29 COMMENTS | permalink

AOC: Only 2% of people on Medicaid are able-bodied.. I saw Mike Johnson saying we have to stop all the able-bodied men from being on Medicaid -- as if it's a crime for someone to have healthcare in America. Healthcare is a human right, and everyone should have it.

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-- Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 8:55 PM

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... But those dollars are now in jeopardy, as President Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress move to shrink the nearly $900 billion health program that covers more than 1 in 5 Americans.

Desoto CEO Todd Eppler said Medicaid cuts could make it harder for his hospital to repay the loans and for patients to access care.

"I just hope that the people who are making these decisions have thought deeply about it and have some context of the real-world implications," he said, "because it's going to affect us as a hospital and going to affect our patients." ...

One of the decision-makers is Eppler's representative in Congress: House Speaker Mike Johnson, who lives about 35 miles north of here. He said he knows the Republican leader and his staff understand hospitals' plight: The mother of Johnson's chief of staff is CEO of a rural hospital in the district.

"I've never met a congressman yet that wanted a rural hospital in their district to close, and certainly Mike is no exception to that rule," Eppler said. ...

Last year nearly 290,000 people in Johnson's district were enrolled in Medicaid, about 38% of the total population, according to data compiled by KFF, the health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

About 118,000 of them are in the program thanks to the Affordable Care Act, which allowed states including Louisiana to expand Medicaid to cover low-income adults, many of whom were working in low-paying jobs that don't provide health insurance.

Louisiana ranks second in Medicaid enrollment, at nearly 32% --- a reflection of the state's high poverty rate. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-04-14 05:53 PM

@#10 ... So I ask, again, will Spkr Johnson be holding Town Halls in his district over the recess? ...

Well, there's this ...

Speaker Johnson tells GOP lawmakers to skip town halls after an onslaught of protests (March 2025)
apnews.com

... House Speaker Mike Johnson is encouraging Republican lawmakers to skip town halls that have been filled with protesters decrying the Trump administration's slashing of federal government, echoing the president's claims that the demonstration's are fueled by professional protesters.

The speaker's advice Tuesday comes as GOP lawmakers often find themselves at a loss to explain the cuts, led by billionaire Elon Musk'sDepartment of Government Efficiency, that are leaving federal workers suddenly out of jobs in communities from coast to coast. Democrats are jumping in to shine a bright light on what is happening. ...

@#12 ... Remember when Clint Eastwood had Obama in a chair? ...

How Clint Eastwood's odd Obama speech turned Republican stomachs (2013)
www.theguardian.com

... Clint Eastwood's eccentric performance at last year's Republican National Convention earned the veteran actor and film-maker some of the most bemused reviews of his illustrious career. Now a new book sheds light on how it played to the Republican faithful within the auditorium. One senior strategist was so horrified by the spectacle, it is alleged, that he promptly took himself off to vomit. ...

"Let's talk about Johnson admitting they're cutting Medicaid ... .

Belle of the Ranch" (Beau's wife)

www.youtube.com

4 min

Correcting the Trumper lie that people who work can't still qualify for some Medicaid programs.

His home state Louisiana is one of the biggest losers in all this, as are many rural red states that will lose hospitals and doctors for kids and families.