"Make no mistake: this is a direct retreat from Johnson's previous position, which as recently as February was "we're not going to touch Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid."

"Rural hospitals are going to close," said Dr Rob Davidson, executive director of the Committee to Protect Health Care. He warned that facilities such as nursing homes would also lose key funding and be threatened.

"Our hospital is so dependent on folks' ability to have access to insurance, and Medicaid is a huge payer, you know" about a third or more overall," added Davidson, an emergency room doctor based in Michigan."

'

They have to pay for Herr Musk and Herr Trump's tax cuts somehow, and poor sick children is naturally where they start.