As concerns mount over potential cuts to Medicaid, advocacy groups are telling Congress that such an idea could have devastating effects on K12 students.
Last week, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a budget plan that orders the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid and Medicare, to cut spending by $880 billion. It’s part of an overall plan to reduce spending by $2 trillion over the next decade to help pay for a $4.5 trillion extension of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.
The School Superintendents Association (AASA), along with 64 other organizations that represent the Medicaid in the Schools Coalition, issued a letter to House and Senate leaders outlining the dangers of cutting funding too harshly.
The coalition argues that Medicaid is a cost-effective healthcare service for children. While children comprise nearly half of all Medicaid beneficiaries, less than one in every $5 is spent on them.
“Accordingly, proposals to cap Medicaid spending, even one based on different groups of beneficiaries, will disproportionately harm children’s access to care, including services received at school,” the letter reads.
More specifically, the authors note that such a decision would jeopardize the nation’s most vulnerable children: students with disabilities and those in poverty. The consequences associated with this loss in funding include, but are not limited to:
- Fewer mental health supports: 70% of students receive mental health services at school. Cuts would further marginalize these services.
- Cuts to general education: Districts would be forced to divert funds from other educational programs.
- Higher taxes: Districts rely on Medicaid reimbursements to cover personnel costs for their special education programs. Potential deficits would require increases in property taxes or levies to fill the gaps.
- Job loss: Many districts used Medicaid reimbursement to support staff salaries and benefits.
- Fewer critical supplies: Districts would lose the ability to use Medicaid reimbursement for wheelchairs, walkers and other medical equipment.
- Noncompliance with IDEA: Medicaid reimbursements serve as a funding stream to help schools provide specialized instructional support.
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“We urge you to carefully consider the important benefits that Medicaid provides to our nation’s most vulnerable children,” the letter concludes.
The Senate must first approve the plan, and several Republican senators have suggested modifications, which would send the bill back to the House.
The Center for Children and Families at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University also published a research brief that details Medicaid’s role in supporting student success.
The Center points to states like Louisiana where the program pays for nursing services for Medicaid-enrolled students. In Arkansas, Medicaid funds increased demand for mental health services.
In June 2024, the Biden administration awarded $50 million in grants to Alaska, West Virginia, Wisconsin and 15 states working to implement, expand or enhance school-based health services for eligible students.
