The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) Monthly Washington Update for the end of August 2025
The news out of Washington, D.C., is usually slow during this time of year because the members of Congress are back home in their states and districts during their annual August recess. However, these are not normal times.
We have some important news below regarding the possible effects of cuts to Medicaid, and the potential cuts to Medicare.
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Congress Must Pass Legislation to Fund the Government Soon
When Congress returns from its August recess, it will have less than 30 days to fund the federal government for the 2026 fiscal year before the 2025 fiscal year ends. This is the same predicament Congress has faced for years at this time of the year.
The federal government’s fiscal year ends on September 30, and unless Congress passes legislation to continue funding it, the government will shut down.
With such a bitter division between the two political parties, funding the government for the entire 2026 fiscal year will be difficult, and already, there is talk of passing a stopgap “continuing resolution” to keep the government running at last year’s levels while Congress tries to pass the needed legislation.
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Could More Medicaid Cuts Be Coming?
Before Congress left town at the beginning of August, a group of influential Republican members of the House of Representatives met with a number of people to discuss what would be in another possible “big, beautiful bill” that some of them want to pass in the 2026 fiscal year. Among the people they met with was a man who was a chief architect of the hard-right push for deep Medicaid spending cuts. The man was allied with conservative hard-liners earlier this year in pushing for significant cuts to Medicaid in the first GOP package.
While what might be in such a bill is still under discussion, some House GOP factions are discussing further slashing Medicaid as well as possibly targeting Medicare funding.
There is real skepticism, even among some Republicans, as to whether another bill could pass. Still, TSCL will keep a close eye on this as we move forward into the federal government’s new fiscal year starting October 1.
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Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says Medicare Cuts Could be Possible
According to a report just issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), unless Congress takes action, the federal budget deficits caused by President Trump’s new One Big, Beautiful tax and spending law could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare.
That’s because of a law passed in 2010 that forces across-the-board cuts to many federal programs once legislation increases the federal deficit.
While Trump promised not to cut Medicare, his new law is estimated to add at least $3.4 trillion to the federal debt over the next ten years. If that happens, the 2010 law comes into play, and it would force across-the-board cuts to many federal programs. The CBO estimates there could be as much as $491 billion in cuts to Medicare between 2027 and 2034.
That’s why it is imperative that Congress act to make sure those cuts don’t happen, and TSCL will watch this closely.
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Medicare Part D Premiums Could Go Up
October 15 is the date this year that the Medicare open enrollment season begins. New information suggests that Medicare Part D premiums could increase significantly in 2026.
According to a report by KFF Health News, “Policy experts say premiums are likely to go up for several reasons, including increased use of some higher-cost prescription drugs; a law that capped out-of-pocket spending for enrollees; and changes in a program aimed at stabilizing price increases that the Trump administration has continued but made less generous.”
As a result, experts advise that instead of rolling over your current stand-alone Medicare Part D plan, you should shop around to find a plan that covers your needs at the most economical cost.
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