Kennedy Calls Medicaid Cuts 'Myth' as States Brace for Changes
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- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was heckled at a Michigan farm about Medicaid cuts during his national Make America Healthy Again tour, and he told the crowd the concern is a 'myth people believe.'
- State officials and Medicaid advocates in Michigan and other battleground states are bracing for significant changes to Medicaid enrollment rates and eligibility ahead of the November midterms.
- Health policy experts told STAT that the administration's Medicaid changes will force people off the program and slow its growth over time, directly contradicting Kennedy's denial.
- The Trump administration is targeting the same battleground states it hopes to win in November, making the messaging-versus-policy gap on Medicaid a potential flashpoint for midterm voters.
Why it matters: Kennedy's flat denial of Medicaid cuts creates a messaging gap with state officials and policy experts who say enrollment and eligibility changes are coming to battleground states — a contradiction that could shape how voters in those states experience the program before the November midterms.
