How will Medicaid cuts in the 'Big Beautiful Bill' impact the Valley?

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — In the U.S. Senate's version of the spending bill, billions of dollars are being cut from Medicaid, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Texas Visiting Nurse Service assists seniors, which Medicaid tends to fund.

If this bill becomes law, Texas Visiting Nurse Service Administrator, Vanessa Sandoval, said it is hard to say how seniors in the Rio Grande Valley will feel the cuts. Sandoval said this is based on how Texas lawmakers decide to implement the bill if it becomes law.

"Texas is a state that did not expand Medicaid; therefore, a lot of the cuts mentioned may or may not affect us as those states that did expand their Medicaid services."

According to Sandoval, Texas legislators recently voted to put more dollars into the community care portion of the services provided by Medicaid.

As for what's mentioned in the U.S. Senate's most recent spending bill, Sandoval said those with Medicaid may be required to impose co-payments of up to $35 for medical services.

Sandoval told ValleyCentral that people may need to fill out renewals every six months instead of every year.

Medicaid dollars are important to keep home care services in the community running. Doctors' visits, hospitals, and therapies are things covered by Medicaid.

More than 11 million people are expected to lose their healthcare under the most recent Senate spending bill.

Republicans argue the overhaul will help keep Medicaid running longer.