Health insurance for millions could vanish as states put Medicaid expansion on chopping block

Medical Xpress February 12, 2025
Anna Claire Vollers

Republican lawmakers in several states have Medicaid expansion in their crosshairs, energized by President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and a GOP-controlled Congress set on reducing spending on the public health insurance program for low-income people.

As the feds consider cuts to Medicaid, some states are already moving to end or shrink their expanded Medicaid programs.

Legislators in Idaho have introduced a bill that would repeal voter-approved expansion, while Republicans in Montana are considering allowing their expanded program to expire. Some South Dakota lawmakers want to ask voters to let the state end expansion if federal aid declines. Nine other states already have trigger laws that will end their expansion programs if Congress cuts federal funding.