The White House is warning that spending cuts in a budget proposed by a large group of House Republicans could lead to longer wait times for people seeking assistance with Social Security and Medicare.
In a fact sheet first shared with Spectrum News, the White House pointed to the roughly 31% cut in non-defense discretionary spending in the Republican Study Committee’s proposed plan for fiscal year 2025 to make the case that Social Security field offices would be forced to close or shorten their hours and the Medicare call center would take longer to assist callers.
“President Biden’s father had an expression: ‘Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value,'" White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said in a statement to Spectrum News. "The Republican Study Committee budget proposes devastating cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the Affordable Care Act."
“Their budget lays out a dark future for America. President Biden is on the side of the American people. He believes in giving all Americans a fair shot, will always fight to protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicare, MEDICAID, and the Affordable Care Act,” the statement continued.
Specifically, the sheet argues the spending proposal would lead to $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security, resulting in a potential increase of at least two months before those applying for disability benefits received an answer. The proposed changes to Medicare, the White House said, could more than double average call wait times for assistance with that program.
Monique Morrissey, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute told Spectrum News that people often look for guidance on topics such as whether it would be financially beneficial for them to delay taking their Social Security benefits or for assistance on things such as paperwork, particularly those seeking disability benefits.
“Administrative cuts have been particularly harmful to disability applicants,” Morrissey said, adding that such applicants are “among the most vulnerable” because their claims are more complex and they need more assistance.
A breakdown of state-by-state data provided by the White House shows the number of people on the program in each state that could be impacted by the proposed changes. California, for instance, has more than 6.7 million Medicare enrollees and more than 7 million Social Security beneficiaries who could be impacted, while Texas’ numbers are more than 4.6 million and more than 5 million respectively.
The RSC, which is chaired by Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is comprised of about 80% of GOP lawmakers serving in the House, including Speaker Mike Johnson. The group released their budget plan -- which is unlikely to become law but reflects policy priorities of the sizable group -- last month.
When it comes to Social Security, the plan calls for "modest adjustments to the retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy,” but does not specify a particular age. It also proposes “modest changes” to the primary insurance amount benefit formula and a phase out of auxiliary benefits, additional monthly benefits that can be paid to family members, for high income earners.
As for Medicare, the plan would convert the program to a “premium support model” in which traditional Medicare would compete with private plans and beneficiaries would receive subsidies to shop for preferred policies.
In the budget, Republicans in the group wrote that their plan “does not cut or delay retirement benefits for any senior in or near retirement,” underlining the words seemingly for emphasis.
“My reforms are necessary - and it’s the only plan I’ve seen that addresses insolvency,” Hern wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, regarding the proposed changes.
The Congressional Budget Office projects the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2034. Medicare’s trustees reported that the trust fund that funds Medicare hospital coverage will be insolvent by 2028.
The push marks the White House’s latest endeavor to draw a stark line between Biden and the GOP on health care and associated costs. Recently, Biden has put the issue front and center as he seeks reelection.
On Wednesday, he convened health care advocates and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at the White House to talk about the cost of asthma inhalers. Last month, he traveled to New Hampshire and North Carolina to tout what he considers some of his most significant accomplishments on health care costs, such as enabling Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, capping insulin costs at $35 a month and total out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare.
Social Security and Medicare, in particular, became a flash point during a lively moment in Biden’s State of the Union address last year when he said some in the GOP want them to sunset.
Republicans argued back, leading Biden to declare “unanimity” on the topics.
Former President Donald Trump, Biden’s likely 2024 rival, breathed new life into the issue last month when he said “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements — in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and bad management of entitlements” in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
The former president did not go on to further explain in the interview what he meant when he spoke about cutting entitlements. His campaign, however, sought to play down the comment, saying he was talking about “cutting waste.”
Biden was quick to jump on the remarks that day, declaring he is “never gonna allow that to happen” during his remarks in New Hampshire.