CBO: Federal tax law could cause $491 billion in Medicare cuts

The federal budget deficits caused by HR 1, the recently passed federal tax and spending law, could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has reported (Source: “Trump tax law could cause Medicare cuts if Congress doesn’t act, CBO says,” Associated Press, Aug. 15).
 
The CBO estimates that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for Americans over age 65, could potentially see as much as $491 billion in cuts from 2027 to 2034 if Congress does not act to mitigate a 2010 law that forces across-the-board cuts to many federal programs once legislation increases the federal deficit. The latest report from CBO showed how Trump’s signature tax and spending law could put new pressure on federal programs.
 
Trump and Republicans pledged not to cut Medicare as part of the legislation, but the estimated $3.4 trillion that the law adds to the federal deficit over the next decade means that many Medicare programs could still see cuts. In the past, Congress has always acted to mitigate cuts to Medicare and other programs, but it would take some bipartisan cooperation to do so.
 
Hospitals in rural parts of the country are already grappling with cuts to Medicaid, which is available to people with low incomes, and cuts to Medicare could exacerbate their shortfalls.