Medicaid, Snapcut could have lost nearly half a million medical jobs: Report

Diving briefs:

If Medicaid and food aid passed in Congress could result in the loss of more than 1 million jobs, including hundreds of thousands of jobs in the health sector, according to a report released this week by the Commonwealth Fund and the George Washington University Milken Institute's School of Public Health. Nationwide, 1.2 million jobs could be lost in 2029. Funding cuts for safety insurance and supplementary nutrition assistance programs, or for state ripple ripple programs. The impact is comparable to an increase in the country's unemployment rate by a sixth, healthcare researchers said. The healthcare industry will be a particularly big hit. Nearly half a million jobs will be cut in the sector, including the roles of hospitals, doctor offices, pharmacies and long-term care providers.

Dive Insights:

One big beautiful bill law includes many medical provisions, including a massive Medicaid cut that was narrowly passed in the House later last month.

In particular, the law mandates Medicaid work requirements and requires beneficiaries to keep track of work, volunteer or education times and maintain compensation. Last week, Senate Republicans announced their proposal. This includes sharp cuts in Medicaid due to increased labor requirements and more restrictions on state provider taxes.

The report says cuts in federal funding could damage the state's economy, reduce provider revenues, and impact the employment and income of other businesses in the supply chain, as well as workers.

Medicaid and SNAP cuts will be 18% higher than the savings the bill provides the federal government by reducing the state's gross domestic product by $154 billion in 2029.

Additionally, revenue lost by businesses and state residents will reduce state and local revenue by $12.2 billion that year. Researchers say states need to balance their budgets, so they need to raise taxes or cut spending elsewhere to make up for losses.

“Medicaid and SNAP are not just safety net programs, they are not economic engines,” says Layton KU, the lead author of the analysis at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and lead author of the Center for Health Policy Research. “This scale of cuts will hurt millions of families, destabilize the national economy, and create devastating numbers of unemployment and financial tensions.”

The effect of the cut will vary depending on the condition. Those with low-income families who rely on programs like Medicaid and SNAP will find it difficult to collide with unemployment.

For example, the average unemployment in the five states with the highest poverty rates (Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, West Virginia and Kentucky) is 1.3 percentage points compared to the lowest poverty rate of 0.6 percentage points, including New Hampshire, Utah, Minnesota, Colorado and Maryland.

The severity of Medicaid reductions is also state-dependent. Overall, more than 13% of federal Medicaid funds will be lost nationwide in 2029. Arizona loses more than 21%, while Wyoming loses funds by nearly 6%.