Kelly, Gillibrand, Colleagues Demand Answers on Impact of Trump Medicaid Cuts

“Arizona is facing a 19 percent reduction to its Medicaid funding” Today, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and fellow committee Democrats in demanding answers on how President Trump’s Medicaid cuts are affecting older Americans and people with disabilities. A year ago this week, the president signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which slashed Medicaid funding by nearly $1 trillion to give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. In a letter to the Government Accountability Office, the senators demanded answers about exactly how these cuts will hurt older Americans and about what cuts have already been made. “When federal funding for Medicaid is cut, states are forced to choose between cutting Medicaid spending or using more state money to maintain existing Medicaid services,” the senators wrote. “Ultimately, Medicaid services for older adults and people with disabilities may be cut, even if federal cuts do not directly target those services.” According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the cuts will result in 7.5 million more people becoming uninsured by 2034. Arizona alone is facing $34 billion in Medicaid funding cuts by 2034. Hundreds of thousands of Arizonans are projected to lose Medicaid coverage. “Unfortunately, individual states have already discovered that the OBBBA is ‘making their problems worse. […] Arizona is facing a 19 percent reduction to its Medicaid funding, with no clear way for the state to make up for the cut,” the senators continued. In their letter, Kelly and his colleagues demand answers about exactly what changes states have made so far regarding Medicaid coverage for older adults and people with disabilities in calendar years 2026 and 2027. They also request answers about the effects that these changes will have on those served by Medicaid. In addition to Kelly and Gillibrand, the letter is signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and all members of the Senate Aging Committee. The full text of the letter can be found here .