Paused Patients Behind the Cuts
See how ABC are framing this — we run every side, so you decide. News for humans, not bots: serious, civil discussion among real people, with the context and facts you need. Don't just watch: be on the air with your own video takes, polls and predictions.
EVERY NETWORK'S FRAMING
Watch the moment
Add your voice
Sickle cell gene therapy can cost up to $3.1 million per patient.
Two FDA-approved gene therapies — Casgevy (~$2.2M) and Lyfgenia (~$3.1M) — offer potential cures but rank among the world's priciest treatments. Most sickle cell patients depend on Medicaid, making federal funding cuts a direct threat to access.
Reagan's 1981 Medicaid cuts dropped 700,000 from coverage.
The 1981 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act slashed Medicaid funding. Later studies found those cuts correlated with measurable increases in mortality and delayed care among low-income patients nationwide.
Topic poll · all networksWhich Medicaid cut consequence concerns you most?
Medicaid has covered low-income Americans since 1965!
Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Medicaid now serves over 80 million Americans. Federal funding cuts can directly pause or halt care for enrolled patients. Learn more at Wikipedia
Topic poll · all networksWhich CDC funding cut consequence hits patients hardest?
Proposed Medicaid cuts could top $880 billion over 10 years.
The House reconciliation bill targets Medicaid for the largest cuts in the program's 60-year history. The nonpartisan CBO estimates 8.6 million people could lose coverage by 2034.