Trump accuses Democrats of lying about Medicaid cuts. Not quite

WASHINGTON – President Trump accused Democrats of lying about the projected Medicaid cuts in the Republican health care plan, but they didn't.

They're just counting different things. 

As Senate leadership struggles to find on a way forward for the controversial health care plan after coming up short of the votes it needed to pass before July 4 recess, Trump defended the proposal, tweeting that "Democrats purposely misstated Medicaid under new Senate bill - actually goes up."

While Trump's correct that the overall Medicaid budget would continue to rise under the GOP plan, the spending increase Trump is touting is far less than what's projected under current law. 

The independent Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate Republican plan would hack $772 billion from projected spending under Obamacare from 2018 and 2026. The projections take into account policies that would be changed by the bill, as well as factors such as how much the population is expected to grow and age, and how quickly medical costs are rising.

Democrats argue that the Senate plan should be compared to current law – and that reductions in planned spending amount to cuts. 

What's more, there's no doubt the program itself is being cut. Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government and states. The Senate bill as written would overall reduce the federal level of support for Medicaid, and health care experts say the reductions are too big for states to make up the difference. 

Democrats have also said that the Republican plan would allow states to change the eligibility requirements for Medicaid – flexibility that, if states take advantage, would mean millions of people could lose coverage. 

Fact-checking website PolitiFact rated as "mostly false" previous claims by Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway that the Senate health care plan would not reduce Medicaid.

"Conway said that Republicans are not cutting the Medicaid program. The Republican health care proposals would slow the rate at which Medicaid spending increases, but spending would still increase," the site said. "However, the proposals include policy changes that will leave fewer people eligible for Medicaid. That’s a cut." 

The Democratic group American Bridge said the Republican plan backed by Trump would "structurally end the program as we know it."

Contributing: Eliza Collins