NBC’s Nightly News only briefly mentioned “Democrats arguing” that the House GOP budget framework can’t meet its assigned spending reductions “without affecting Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare,” and credulously played a clip of a reporter asking President Donald Trump for reassurance that there will not be cuts to benefits.
But according to a review of ABC’s World News Tonight and CBS’ Evening News, both those programs failed to mention the House budget resolution at all, much less the Medicaid cuts it would set in motion. ABC did manage to find time for two separate, lengthy segments updating their audience — the largest broadcast news audience in America — on celebrity news. Even more bizarrely, CBS actually featured a profile of Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), who flew cross-country with her newborn in hopes of casting a vote to defeat the Republican budget resolution, which correspondent Scott Macfarlane described merely as “a pivotal vote.”
This stands in contrast to these networks’ morning news programs, which at least mentioned this issue.
CBS Mornings briefly mentioned that “House Republicans have narrowly passed a framework for a new budget that would reframe the priorities of the U.S. government. It could also lead to major cuts to Medicaid,” with political correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns mentioning that “one of those committees is tasked with finding over $800 billion in spending cuts, and that has to come from somewhere, and Medicaid is a likely target.”
ABC’s Good Morning America also briefly mentioned that “while specific budget cuts haven't been determined, Democrats warning Medicaid, the health care program for low income Americans and those with disabilities, is expected to be slashed.”
Although Republicans have not specified how they will cut Medicaid, House Republican leaders have recently indicated that they are considering mandating work requirements. Without a specific legislative proposal, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that about “36 million Medicaid enrollees — including people in every state — could be at risk of losing their coverage under various proposals.” According to CBPP, this total represents “44 percent of all Medicaid enrollees.” The Center for American Progress additionally outlined how proposed cuts stemming from the Republican budget proposal could affect every congressional district in the United States.
Multiple studies have found that the Medicaid work requirements that went into effect in several states during the first Trump administration failed to improve employment in any significant way, but did result in significant losses in health coverage. In 2023, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that a separate GOP work requirement proposal “would have a negligible effect on employment status or hours worked by people who would be subject to the work requirements.” In addition, a recent KFF analysis shows that the vast majority of Medicaid enrollees already work or would be exempt from work requirements.
