While senators spent on Monday to debate the tax bill of President Donald Trump, Democrats, defenders and Illinois experts warned that the 1.2 billions of dollars of the measure would cost their health care coverage more than 500,000 Illinoisans and would put around 427,000 people at risk of losing food assistance.
Republican leaders try to pass the measure before Trump’s deadline on July 4, but the process was volatile. He erased the procedure on Saturday evening, but only after the Holves were convinced by Trump and Vice-President JD Vance. Senator Thom Tillis, RN.C., announced that he would not ask for re -election after having voted against the progress of the measure – and a threat from Trump to support a main challenge to the senator.
Voting on the measure should be in progress most of Monday. If the Senate exceeds it, it should always return to the room.
Costly reductions to snap, health and energy insurance
In total, the Senate bill includes around 4 billions of dollars in discounts and makes Trump tax rates in 2017 permanent, while adding new ones, including no advice tax. The bill would also provide $ 350 billion for border and national security, including for deportations.
However, an analysis of the non -partisan congress budget office revealed that 11.8 million additional Americans would not become assured by 2034 if the bill adopts. The package would also increase the deficit by nearly 3.3 billions of dollars during the decade, the analysis revealed.
The biggest Senate reductions include $ 1.2 billion of Medicaid and food coupons – which means that states pay at least 5% and up to 25% of the benefits of the additional nutrition aid program. This would place an astonishing budgetary cost on Illinois which could force legislators to reduce the advantages or the number of beneficiaries.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 1,884,107 people in 1,028,197 households received SNAP services in Illinois for the year 2022. The average monthly advantage was $ 157 per person and 75% of SNAP beneficiaries had income or below the poverty line.
An overhaul of the program could cost Illinois $ 1.2 billion and leave 427,000 low -income residents without food coupons, according to Governor JB Pritzker’s office.
The potential change in costs to the state would exert “massive pressure on Illinois budget, threatening funding for other essential services such as education and health care,” said Pritzker in a letter with other Democratic governors urging Congress to reject changes.
His administration indicates that up to half a million Illinoisans could lose their coverage Medicaid under the federal bill, which would require most of the Illinois registrants to prove that they have worked, volunteered or go to school for at least 80 hours during the month before registering for coverage.
The Illinois Ministry of Health and Family Services does not collect the work statutes of Medicaid’s beneficiaries – raising more questions about the state infrastructure necessary to enforce new requirements – but about two -thirds of non -disabilities aged 19 to 64 have declared income, according to data from the February state.
“While most adults covered by Medicaid in Illinois work [between] 270,000 and 500,000 MEDICAID customers in Illinois losing coverage for mainly administrative reasons, “said a spokesperson for IDHFS in an email.
This is in accordance with an estimate of June 5 of the joint economic committee – a bipartite committee analyzing the state of the economy – which projects 163,674 people in Illinois would lose the coverage of the affordable health care law and 335,000 would lose Medicaid with the adoption of the current measure. In total, this would mean that 498,674 residents of Illinois would lose health care coverage. An estimate of June 30 increased this number to 535,849 lost health coverage in Illinois.
The State and the Federal Government currently divide the costs of many Medicaid programs, the federals covering 90% of the programs of the affordable care law. This percentage is on the cutting block, which would trigger a law of the state by supporting Illinois based on the matching of the ACA program because the short money cannot afford billions of additional costs.
The joint economic committee also noted that the current proposal would end the energy and efficiency tax reductions which are currently available for households, which have helped a typical family to save up to $ 1,080 each year.
It would also reduce more than $ 350 billion in higher education investments, including changes to PELL grants which could lead to 48,700 students in the middle class and the middle class losing federal aid and 106,200 students losing aid. Federal financial assistance would also be taken from refugees, asylum seekers and certain victims of domestic violence and sexual traffic or work.
The sound alarm of the Democrats of Illinois
American representative Raja Krishnamoorthhi, D-ill., Started his Monday in a downtown office in Chicago Planned Parenthood, with defenders warning that 40% of patients count on MEDICAID for essential health services, in particular contraception, cancer screening and abortions.
“Without Medicaid, nearly 30,000 [Planned Parenthood of Illinois] Patients would not be able to access the essential health care they deserve, “said Tonya Tucker, an acting CEO of Planned Parenthood.” Without Medicaid, PPI would need $ 16 million per year to continue to provide current services, and this amount cannot be covered in a consistent manner by donations alone. Without Medicaid, PPI will be forced to close more health centers, leaving people without access to essential health care they need and deserve. »»
Krishnamoorthi said that the Trump bill would include more than $ 1.1 billion of social security sections, including 1 dollars billion cups in Medicaid, which will leave nearly 17 million people without health insurance.
“As the child of food and public housing coupons, these cuts are not only professionals, but they are personally so too,” said Krishnamami.
Speaking on the stage of the Senate Sunday afternoon, Senator Dick Durbin underlined the impact of the bill on hospitals in rural communities. Durbin said that Decatur hospitals will be forced to shrink or eliminate services, or in some cases, to close.
“The Senate republican bill, unfortunately, will endanger hospitals throughout the United States, but if you live in a small town, a rural area, and I represent a lot in Illinois, you are the most vulnerable,” said Durbin. “You are the target. When they reduce Medicaid programs, hospitals will close their doors…. Take a hospital and then try to attract a new business to your community. Good luck.”
Contribution: AP, Anthony Vazquez
