The GOP’s proposed budget cuts target Medicaid and SNAP benefits

For thousands of families across the Mahoning Valley, programs like Medicaid and SNAP are lifelines.

A proposal by U.S. House Republicans seeks to cut federal spending on these programs by trillions of dollars over 10 years to pay for extending tax cuts first enacted in 2017 during the president-elect’s first term.

John Woods, the owner of Insurance Navigation said that this could lead to increased difficulties for people covered by Medicaid.

“The people that Medicaid really serves, they’re not the loudest voice. They’re people in need and they have less financial security. This can lead to more medical debt,” Woods said.

According to the Ohio Medicaid Dashboard, about 200,000 people in the Mahoning Valley are covered by Medicaid.

Republican lawmakers want to cut billions from Medicaid by reducing federal contributions and shifting that responsibility to the states.

Health care is not the only thing on the Republican chopping block. They also want to save $300 billion by cutting SNAP benefits.

Second Harvest Food Bank Director Mike Iberis believes this could lead to more need in the community.

“When they run out of money at the end of the month or at the end of the period, then in many cases they will go to a pantry. So that can create a situation where more people go to our pantry for food,” Iberis said.

More than 100,000 people in the Valley receive SNAP benefits.

“We have enough problems with food deserts as it is already, this just makes an already bad situation worse,” Woods said