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Trump plans to slash Medicaid funding

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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is expected to propose cutting US$800 billion (S$1.1 trillion) from Medicaid over 10 years in a budget plan to be released today that would slash spending on anti-poverty and other programmes, US media reported.

The plans for the massive cut to Medicaid, which funds healthcare for low-income and disabled people, come as lawmakers from his Republican Party are battling to repeal and replace Obamacare, in which Medicare plays an important role.

The cut to Medicaid is contingent on a healthcare bill passed in the House of Representatives earlier this month becoming law.

The Washington Post on Sunday quoted people familiar with the plan as saying that the bill to dismantle the Affordable Care Act - as former president Barack Obama's signature healthcare law is called - would cut federal support for Medicaid by more than US$800 billion over a decade.

Medicaid's expansion under Obamacare extended healthcare coverage to some 11 million previously uninsured adults.

Medicaid currently covers more than 70 million mainly low-income and disabled people.

The House bill would cut federal funding for the entire Medicaid programme by 25 per cent by 2026 and shift the burden to states, which would receive set amounts in the form of grants that would force them to reduce eligibility or cut benefits.

The American Medical Association issued a scathing criticism of the bill, warning that it would cause millions of Americans to lose their healthcare.

Some Republicans who also criticised the House bill say they oppose major cuts to Medicaid.

The Senate is working on its own separate healthcare legislation.- AFP

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