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Over 11 million Americans could become uninsured by 2034 because of the health care cuts in President Trump's signature legislation.

One of the biggest health care changes is to Medicaid, the federal program that provides health insurance to more than 70 million low-income Americans and people with disabilities. The Congressional Budget Office estimates

this program would lose $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Republicans, like the head of the Centers

for Medicare and Medicaid Services, say these changes address fraud and waste in the Medicaid

program.

When the program was created 60 years ago, it never dawned on anyone that you would take

able-bodied individuals who could work and put them on Medicaid. Today, the average

able-bodied person on Medicaid, it doesn't work, they watch 6.1 hours of television or just

hang out. That's not fair. No, go out and try to get a job.

That's Dr. Mehmet Oz. Since April, he's led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.

Some rural hospitals and states warn Medicaid cuts could have devastating effects for their communities.

I suspect we'll see rural clinics, safety net clinics, rural hospitals will probably shut their doors because they won't be able to sustain financially.

That's Dr. Shannon Dowler, a family physician in Western North Carolina speaking to the New York Times.

She's the former chief medical officer of North Carolina Medicaid.

Some of the biggest Medicaid changes won't

take effect until after the midterm elections in 2026, but rural hospitals that rely heavily on

Medicaid are already scrambling to plan for the cuts in funding. Recently, Republican Senator Josh

Holly of Missouri introduced legislation to block some of the major Medicaid rollbacks.

I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast. We'll break down what this all means for you

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