MAGA and Medicaid: Which states have highest percentage of beneficiaries?
A number of the country’s most Republican-leaning states have some of the greatest percentage of their population on Medicaid.
While President Donald Trump has said that Medicaid would remain “untouched,” the prospect of funding cuts to the program would not only impact millions of Americans but also many of his own supporters.
Why It Matters
After the Republican budget proposal was released last week, there was widespread concern that it could result in millions of Americans losing access to Medicaid as the program’s funding might have been cut by billions of dollars in order to reduce government spending.
As Medicaid’s main aim is to provide health coverage for those with limited incomes and resources, the possibility of cutting funding for the program sparked significant anger, as some 80 million Americans use it.
Tom Williams right) and Eric Gay left)/CQ Roll Call via AP (left and AP (right
What To Know
Last week, Steve Bannon, a former top Trump adviser, warned that those using Medicaid had to be “careful,” given the new proposed budget, a warning that he said also extended to MAGA supporters.
According to the business magazine Fortune, the host of the podcast Bannon’s War Room said in an episode that was released on Thursday: “Medicaid, you gotta be careful. Because a lot of MAGAs are on Medicaid, I’m telling you. If you don’t think so, you are dead wrong.”
Louisiana (32.4), Kentucky (28.3), West Virginia (28.2) and Arkansas (27.4) were among seven states that had more than 25 percent of their population on the Medicaid program, according to the health policy research website KFF.
All four were also states that voted for Trump in the 2024 election, and West Virginia is among the top five most Republican-leaning states in the country, according to analysis by the election website FiveThirtyEight.
Kentucky and Arkansas were also states that leaned further right than most, according to FiveThirtyEight’s partisan lean scores, while Louisiana sat more toward the middle of the Republican pack.
Oklahoma, which has 21.9 percent of its population on Medicaid, was ranked the third-most Republican-leaning state in America, based on the FiveThirtyEight analysis.
New Mexico topped the list of seven at 33.5 percent, while New York was third at 28.5. The other state was California at 26.8.
Medicaid, an $880 billion program, is financed mostly by taxpayers who fund roughly 80 percent of the costs for some states. Given its high cost, it seemed likely that it would be hit by funding cuts among other measures in order to bring government spending down, which was the top priority of the GOP’s budget plan.
However, after Trump’s vow during his interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he wouldn’t make any cuts to Medicare or Medicaid, what will happen is uncertain, as along with cuts to funding, there has also been ongoing discussion about implementing work requirements for those using the programs.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, during his Fox News interview Tuesday night: “Social Security won’t be touched, other than if there’s fraud or something. It’s going to be strengthened. Medicare, Medicaid—none of that stuff is going to be touched. Now, if there are illegal migrants in the system, we’re going to get them out.”
Sahil Kapur, an NBC News senior political reporter, on X, formerly Twitter: “No Medicaid spending cuts? This will come as news to House Republicans.”
What Happens Next
It is up to the House Energy and Commerce Committee to decide what programs and areas will see funding cuts under the new budget, but any wholesale cuts to Medicare and Medicaid are considered unlikely.
