DrWebAmericans fear rising health care costs – The Hill
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill
Trump is Making Health Care Unaffordable Again
by Glenn C. Altschuler, opinion contributor – 11/30/25 8:00 AM E
Mandel Ngan, Agence France-Presse via Getty Images President Trump speaks to the press upon arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., on June 20, 2025.As 2025 winds down amid concerns about “affordability,” Americans have added incentives to wish family, friends and themselves a “healthy New Year.” An AP-NORC poll reports that 60 percent of respondents are “extremely” or “very” worried about health care cost increases.
Substantial cuts to Medicaid in the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill and a refusal by Republicans to renew Affordable Care Act tax credit subsidies will bring the total of uninsured Americans to about 31 million by 2027. Tens of millions more will experience sticker shock when they get their health insurance bills from the ACA, Medicaid, Medicare and private companies.
Over the next decade, federal government spending on Medicaid, which serves 72 million Americans, accounting for 20 percent of expenditures on health care in the United States and 50 percent of long-term care, will go down by $911 billion.
An estimated 7.5 million people, residing in every state and congressional district, will no longer be covered. The most likely casualties of work requirements and recertification of eligibility are low-income workers who frequently change jobs, their children, and young adults who often move and may not receive required forms every six months.
Monitoring the new rules, which are already in place in some states, is expensive. According to the General Accounting Office, Georgia has already spent $54 million on administration this year, twice as much as it paid for actual patient care. Since Medicaid reimbursement rates are lower than those for Medicare, moreover, additional cuts may convince more providers to stop treating Medicaid patients.
Meanwhile, Medicare announced that in 2026 its Standard Part B Premium, which covers physician and outpatient visits, will be $202.90 per month, a 9.7 percent increase. The annual Part B deductible will go up to $283. It’s worth noting that 7 million Medicare beneficiaries spend 10 percent or more of their annual income on Part B premiums, not including dental and long-term care.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Americans fear rising health care costs
#2026 #60Worried #75MillionExcluded #ACA #AffordableCareAct #Costs #Fear #GAO #GOPFailure #GovernmentAccountingOffice #Health #Healthcare #Medicare #PartB #RisingHealthCareCosts #TheHill #USHouse
Vic Bonilla
🏳️⚧️DraxisWeb Productions