Medicaid faces massive cuts starting in 2027 as part of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, with Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cuts totaling approximately a trillion dollars over the next decade. Child advocates worry the reductions could affect students’ access to services critical for learning, including speech therapy, tablets for nonverbal children, eyeglasses, hearing aids, inhalers, and dental care. Medicaid eligibility varies dramatically by state: a family of four qualifies in some states earning less than $45,300 annually, while others allow income exceeding $96,000.
Learning-Related Services at Risk
Medicaid covers devices and care that directly support school performance. Speech therapy, behavioral therapy, and communication devices funded by Medicaid help children with disabilities prepare for preschool. Vision tests and eyeglasses prevent learning delays from undetected sight problems. Hearing aids enable children to absorb speech patterns and classroom conversations. Asthma inhalers prevent students from missing school—asthma causes nearly 13 million school absences annually and leads to grade repetition. Dental care prevents pain-related absences. Studies cited by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families show students covered by Medicaid read better, have higher graduation rates, and higher adult earnings than uninsured peers.
Implementation Risks and Gaps
The Trump administration announced on July 17 it would eliminate states’ ability to extend continuous coverage for young children beyond one year, a decision that previously allowed eight states to extend coverage until age 3 or 6. Critics worry that as rules shift and grow more complicated, parents may not enroll children or let coverage expire. Elisabeth Burak, senior fellow at the Georgetown center, noted that children frequently slip in and out of coverage due to lost mail, unknown paperwork requirements, or parent coverage changes. Patricia Endley, president of the National Association of School Nurses, emphasized that parents often struggle with the application process, saying “the whole system application process can be complicated, and what I see is kids slipping through the cracks.”
Impact on Specific Services
Early screening through Medicaid identifies disabilities before school age. Without Medicaid coverage, some children might wait until school for vision tests, never accessing affordable eyeglasses. Others may not receive treatment for behavioral or developmental issues until they reach school age.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.the74million.org/article/trump-medicaid-cuts-could-cost-kids-coverage-that-aids-learning/