The Trump administration is proposing a change to the federal poverty level that would, over time, cause millions of people to lose – or receive less assistance from – programs that help them meet basic needs such as health care, food, education, and supports for farmworkers. The SPLC today urged the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) not to move forward with the plan.
Here are some of the benefits people would lose under the proposal, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
- More than 250,000 adults would lose health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.
- More than 300,000 children, and some pregnant women, would lose health insurance through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
- Millions of people would receive fewer subsidies for purchasing health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, making it more expensive to do so.
- More than 250,000 seniors and people with disabilities would lose or receive less help from the Medicare Part D subsidy program, forcing them to pay more for prescription drugs.
- More than 150,000 seniors and people with disabilities would lose premium coverage for Medicare Part B, meaning they would have to pay premiums of more than $1,500 per year to maintain health coverage.
- Nearly 200,000 people – mostly in working households – would lose food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- More than 100,000 school-age children would become ineligible for free or reduced-price school meals, and more than 100,000 children would lose free meals but could still get them for a reduced price.
- About 40,000 infants and young children would lose access to healthy foods, nutrition counseling and breastfeeding support through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
