Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) is one of three Republicans who won districts where former Vice President Kamala Harris also won in 2024. Now he's being forced to defend cuts to Medicaid using political spin.
Speaking to CNN's Dana Bash, Lawler tried to claim that there weren't going to be Medicaid cuts because the 2026 budget bill will only kick some people off of Medicaid.
"You're conceding eligibility is going to change," hammered Bash, as Lawler kept claiming "able-bodied" people don't deserve Medicaid.
"We are saying to receive Medicaid benefits, if you are an able-bodied adult, we're not talking about the traditional Medicaid population," claimed Lawler. "We're talking about expansion — you should try to work 80 hours a month. The bottom line there is people will have enough time to understand that that is part of the requirement moving forward, for those folks. But New York state has the most expansive Medicaid program in the country. New York is going to continue to manage this system. I just, no, I'm not concerned about eligible recipients receiving their Medicaid."
"The eligible word is—" Bash began before Lawler interrupted.
He asked the CNN host if she thought undocumented immigrants should have access to Medicaid. Most states don't allow Medicaid for undocumented immigrants.
"I'm not — I'm just asking ... I think that people should know that the word 'eligible' is going to mean something different," Bash said.
Lawler rambled about work requirements, admitting that indeed they've changed the meaning of "eligible" for the purposes of Medicaid.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan, non-political research office that scores the impacts of legislation, explained that the GOP bill will cut spending on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The total amount of benefit cuts will total $1.02 trillion. It will completely eliminate health care for at least 10.5 million people. Others could stand to lose benefits because the law severely restricts states from being able to raise their own funds for state-based Medicaid programs.
Lawler promised that rural hospitals would be fine because the bill provides them with some funding to sustain them for a short time. He didn't say what would happen after those funds run out.
See the interview below or at the link here.