Senate bill would cut Medicaid spending 35 percent in 2036: budget analyst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Spending on the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor would be 35 percent lower than under current law in 2036 if a draft bill to repeal Obamacare proposed by Senate Republicans were to become law, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday.

The CBO estimated in a report requested by Senate Democrats that under current law Medicaid spending would grow 5.1 percent a year over the next two decades. Under the Republican Senate plan, it projected growth of just 1.9 percent a year through 2026 and about 3.5 percent per year in the subsequent ten years.

(Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Andrew Hay)