If the federal budget currently moving through Congress passes, Texas families, hospitals, and public schools could be left holding the bag again.
House Republicans’ budget plan, backed by President Donald Trump, proposes over $1.5 trillion in cuts to vital safety net programs like Medicaid to pay for massive tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. These cuts would threaten health coverage for up to 70 million Americans, including 36% of all Texas children, 48% of Texas births, and 61% of nursing home residents in Texas.
Texas schools are also on the chopping block. Medicaid provides around $7.5 billion annually to K-12 education nationwide, helping fund school nurses, physical therapy, mental health services, and special education support. If federal funding shrinks, Texas school districts, which are already stretched thin, may be forced to reduce services for students with disabilities, especially in rural and underserved areas.
A recent analysis by the Georgetown Center for Children and Families found that over 2 million Texas children rely on Medicaid or CHIP, and many of them attend schools that use federal Medicaid dollars to provide essential health services. From asthma treatments to behavioral counseling, these services often determine whether kids can stay in class and succeed. A federal rollback would hit Texas schools especially hard, jeopardizing coverage and school-based health care in districts already grappling with staffing shortages and funding gaps.
The economic ripple effects are staggering. A 30% federal cut to Medicaid could cost 325,000 hospital jobs and over 210,000 non-hospital jobs nationally. In Texas alone, the healthcare system’s stability, particularly in rural hospitals already operating on tight margins, would be severely compromised.
Hospitals across the country are warning that these cuts could lead to widespread service reductions or even closures, especially in rural areas where Medicaid makes up a significant share of operating budgets. As reported by The New York Times, many rural hospitals are already on the brink, and deep cuts to Medicaid would remove the lifeline keeping them afloat.
Meanwhile, as NBC News reports, some Republican lawmakers have suggested imposing work requirements on Medicaid recipients to trim costs. However, most people on Medicaid already work, attend school, or act as caregivers. These so-called reforms won’t generate the savings being promised, and they threaten to make access to care even harder for families who already face barriers.
And let’s be clear: these cuts won’t improve efficiency or quality. They will jeopardize access to care, overwhelm emergency rooms, and shift the financial burden to states like Texas, where 57% of all federal funding already goes to Medicaid.
The choice is clear: Congress must reject a budget that guts health care for working families while handing billions in tax breaks to corporations and billionaires. We’re calling on Texans to take action today.
Tell your member of Congress to oppose Medicaid cuts: Send a letter now.