'Health care hangs in the balance': Biden expands attacks on GOP over budget cuts

WASHINGTON – After pounding away at Republicans over Social Security and Medicare, President Joe Biden on Tuesday broadened his attack.

Biden accused Republicans of wanting to slash two other benefit programs: Obamacare and Medicaid.

"For millions of Americans, health care hangs in the balance," Biden said. "If MAGA Republicans try to take away people’s health care by gutting Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, I will stop them."

He made that  pledge Tuesday when visiting a crossover congressional district in Virginia that he carried in 2020 but that Republicans flipped in November's midterm elections.

It's part of the president's drumbeat of calling on Republicans to lay out how they would reduce the deficit as the president prepares to send his own budget proposal to Congress next week.

What happened Tuesday?

Biden traveled to Virginia Beach, Va., where he  was introduced by Robin Kessler, a woman who got health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, the landmark 2010 legislation that expanded Medicaid and offers subsidized private insurance for people not covered by a government or employer-provided plan.

"I’m here to tell you that we need to remain vigilant," Kessler said about Republicans. "We can't let them take us backwards."

The House seat, represented by freshman Rep. Jen Kiggans, is one of 18 congressional districts held by the GOP that Biden carried in 2020.

Biden is targeting House Republicans who may be more persuadable even as the White House continues to attack "MAGA Republican" plans.

What's the context?

As Washington faces a summer deadline to raise the limit on how much the federal government can borrow, Biden has tried recasting the debate over spending cuts as a fight to protect two of the most popular government programs: Social Security and Medicare.

Medicaid and Obamacare aren't as cherished as the benefit programs for retirees – an active voting bloc. But they've become more popular in recent years as they've provided health insurance for millions more Americans. A record 16 million people signed up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

What's Biden's attack?

Because Republicans haven't specified how they want to reduce government spending, the White House is pointing to past budget plans and Republicans' multi-year battle against the Affordable Care Act.

Congressional Republicans have not recently renewed their efforts to overturn the ACA. But Republicans on the House Budget Committee have backed a much more limited change, restricting premium subsidies to people earning up to 400 percent of the poverty level. Those earning more than that can get help now if insurance costs more than 8.5% of their income.

On Medicaid, a budget proposed last year by a group of House conservatives would have restructured that health care program for the poor, reducing how much the federal government sends states for the jointly-funded program.

What is Biden's plan?

In his State of the Union address, Biden called for making permanent the expansions to the ACA subsidies that were included in legislation passed in the last two years but that expire after 2025. He also wants to expand Medicaid in the 11 states that haven't done so on their own.

Biden said the budget he'll propose next week will show how the nation can lower health costs, protect Social Security and Medicare, cut the deficit and raise taxes on the wealthy.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden charging Republicans with wanting to cut Obamacare, Medicaid