Big ‘Bad’ Bill is gonna hurt
To the Editor:
The Congress has to finalize the Big “Bad” Bill (for most of us) by Oct. 1 or face a government shutdown. This means Congress still has the rest of September to “fix” the worst parts of this bill if they want to before the final vote by Oct. 1.
Most of us have heard about the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, but nobody is talking about the automatic cuts to Medicare that are triggered by this bill. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the “Big Bad Bill” adds so much to the national deficit it will trigger a process known as “sequestration” under the statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010. This law requires spending cuts equal to the legislation’s average deficit impact.
Unless our lawmakers offset the deficit impact in the BBB or agree to waive the PAYGO requirements, which the current bill does not do, sequestration would reduce government spending by $230 billion in fiscal year 2026. About $45 billion of those cuts would be in Medicare in 2026, and between 2027 and 2034 would total an additional $490 billion. That is a total of $535 billion in cuts overall. I have not seen anything yet on other cuts to get the other $185 billion.
Seniors, you are wrong if you think you don’t have to worry about cuts because they are talking only about Medicaid. Unless Congress fixes the BBB, your Medicare cuts will become effective as early as October or November this year, and Medicaid cuts do not become effective until December 2026 (a month after the 2026 election — how convenient).
If you want the safety net programs like Medicare and Medicaid and SNAP to continue, call your legislators before the end of September. Tell them to balance the budget by making billionaires and millionaires pay their fair share in taxes instead of getting tax cuts and to keep the safety net programs and healthcare options that you and your neighbors need to thrive.
Jane Harrison
Haywood County
