WASHINGTON — As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump pledged not to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.
Once in the White House, Trump reneged on his promise not to cut Medicaid for low-income people. Now he’s being criticized for steep Medicare payment cuts to hospitals proposed in his new budget.
The head of a major hospital association says in a blog that the impact on care for seniors would be “devastating.”
“Hospitals are less and less able to cover the cost of care for Medicare patients; it is no time to gut Medicare,” says Chip Kahn of the Federation of American Hospitals.
The budget calls for $845 billion over 10 years in Medicare spending reductions. The White House says that doesn’t reflect benefit cuts but makes better use of taxpayers’ dollars.
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press
