Congress is considering deep cuts to Medicaid, and Kentucky’s members of the House of Representatives will have an important say in that decision. The House-passed budget resolution that directs various congressional committees on how to move forward directed the Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, to identify $880 million in cuts over 10 years. Kentucky Representative Brett Guthrie, who serves in the second congressional district, is the chairman of that committee.
But Medicaid plays an outsized role in the health and well-being of our representatives’ constituencies, and any cuts to Medicaid would disproportionately harm Kentucky’s congressional districts. Kentucky as a whole ranks sixth-highest among states in its share of its population covered by Medicaid. Of the 435 congressional districts across the nation, four of Kentucky’s rank within the top 100 for the largest share covered by Medicaid, and all are in the top 200.
- 1st Congressional District (Congressman James Comer): 235,530 are covered by Medicaid, or 32.4% of the district.
- 2nd Congressional District (Congressman Brett Guthrie): 234,382 are covered by Medicaid, or 30.7% of the district.
- 3rd Congressional District (Congressman Morgan McGarvey): 219,685 are covered by Medicaid, or 30.3% of the district.
- 4th Congressional District (Congressman Thomas Massie): 182,369 are covered by Medicaid, or 24.1% of the district.
- 5th Congressional District (Congressman Hal Rogers): 316,450 are covered by Medicaid, or 44.1% of the district.
- 6th Congressional District (Congressman Andy Barr): 196,729 are covered by Medicaid, or 26.2% of the district.
The proposed Medicaid cuts come as Congress eyes an extension of the 2017 tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy. In fact, the value of those cuts for just the top 1% of earners (who earn half a million dollars or more per year in Kentucky) is equal to the total proposed cut to Medicaid and food assistance. As Kentucky’s delegation makes critical votes in the coming weeks, they should prioritize the health care of the bulk of their constituents over tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and corporations.
