The Trump administration’s proposal to change how the federal poverty level is calculated would cause millions of Americans to lose access to health and food benefits, according to a study by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Last month, the Trump administration proposed changing how the government calculates the poverty line. The administration is seeking to use a different formula that would cause the poverty level to increase slower than under the current formula.
According to the CBPP study, millions of people, including children and pregnant women, would lose access to government programs or see huge cuts to their benefits within 10 years of the proposal being implemented.
Trump plan would leave vulnerable people without any aid:
According to the study, more than a quarter-million people would lose access to Medicaid under the proposal.
More than 300,000 children and pregnant women would lose access to the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Millions of people would see their Obamacare subsidies slashed.
More than a quarter-million seniors and disabled Americans would lose access to the Medicare Part D subsidy program that helps cover prescriptions. More than 150,000 seniors and disabld people would lose premium assistance for Medicare Part B.
Nearly 200,000 people would lose food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
More than 100,000 students would lose access to free and reduced-price lunch. About 40,000 infants and toddlers would lose access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
CBPP warns against Trump proposal:
The study says that ultimately the proposal would "cause millions of people to lose eligibility for, or receive less help from, health, food assistance, and other programs that help them meet basic needs."
"These widespread cuts would raise uninsured rates and worsen access to care, financial security, and health," the report said.
“You might expect an OMB analysis to provide a list of programs affected and a published estimate of people being affected,” said CBPP vice president Aviva Aron-Dine, according to Bloomberg. “The administration did none of those things.”
