Republican lawmakers are considering cuts in healthcare spending to help pay for the war against Iran, Axios reported Monday.
With the Department of Defense reportedly seeking upwards of $200 billion in supplemental funding, House Budget Committee chairman Jodey Arrington is reportedly reviving a proposal to reduce cost-sharing subsidies for people who have obtained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
The Congressional Budget Office previously estimated that the proposed plan would save $31 billion over 10 years, while increasing the number of people without insurance by 300,000.
There are other policy adjustments under discussion, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said that lawmakers are looking at a range of options for cutting costs. “There's other items we're looking at right now, especially in the areas of fraud and waste and abuse that we're working through with our members,” he told Axios.
Though nothing is settled at this point, Democrats were happy to jump on the report that Republicans might cut healthcare to help pay for a war. “Republicans in Congress want to cut Americans' health care to pay for more war in Iran,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on social media. “Let that sink in.”