A double whammy, Proposed Federal Medicaid Cuts make Medicaid cuts Statewide Even Worse. Do Republicans Plan Anything?

The way it looks right now, the Walker administration will be cutting 50,000-65,000 from the Medicaid plan because of a $500 million shortfall. 

If Rep. Paul Ryan gets his way, not only will more people lose Medicaid due to federal cuts in funding, but thousands of jobs will also disappear in the health care industry. A double whammy. Of course, things will get so bad, that Republicans will have no other choice, but to make more cuts. Funny how that works.

SeniorHousingNews: Tens of thousands could lose their jobs from Medicaid cuts included in a Republican budget proposal sponsored in April 2011 by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), costing U.S. states $14 billion and effectively depressing spending among hospitals, nursing homes, and drug companies, among others, according to a study by Families USA. “Such a drastic reduction would stifle business activity and job creation in states already struggling through the recession,” says the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, in an Oct. 2011 Policy Brief. Families USA notes that under the Republican debt reduction plan, Medicaid would be reduced by 5% in 2013, by 15% in 2014, and so on in incremental stages throughout the next ten years, culminating with 33% in 2021.

Medicaid spending buoys local economies because it not only flows to health care providers and their employees, but also pulls in federal dollars as the government matches state spending, economists say. Fallout from the cuts could leave thousands facing unemployment, including nursing home workers losing their jobs. New York and California could both lose more than 28,000 positions, and Texas, more than 18,000. The numbers grow significantly higher as the budget cut percentages increase.