Two House Committees voted last week to make significant changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously known as food stamps), as part of the larger tax reconciliation package. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted along party lines to cut Medicaid spending by requiring states to create and expand work requirements and mandatory volunteerism, imposing a new federal cost-sharing requirement for adults earning just above the federal poverty limit, and preventing states from increasing taxes on healthcare providers, among other things. Together, these changes could result in 13.7 million more people without health insurance. Changes to SNAP by the Agriculture Committee include limiting future increases to benefits, imposing stricter work requirements, and shifting future costs to states.

These cuts could also restrict access to rural Utahns maternity care. "Congressional leaders are looking at major cuts to Medicaid and health care advocates said the proposed changes would be keenly felt by rural Utahns who need maternity care. A new report from Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families found almost 13% of women of childbearing age in Utah's rural communities rely on Medicaid, compared to 10% in metropolitan areas." Learn more.