New state-by-state analysis shows how the Republican Study Committee budget would also worsen wait times for seniors who call for assistance with Medicare and Social Security

During his State of the Union Address, President Biden made clear that he will always stand up for America’s seniors and stand in the way of any Congressional Republicans who try to cut Social Security and Medicare. He laid out his vision for a future where we make the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share while protecting and strengthening these bedrock programs that hardworking Americans pay into their entire working lives.

Less than two weeks later, the Republican Study Committee—which speaks for 80% of House Republicans and 100% of their leadership—released an extreme budget that takes direct aim at Medicare and Social Security. Their plan:

• Calls for over $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security, including an increase in the retirement age to 69 and cutting disability benefits.
• Raises Medicare costs for seniors by taking away Medicare’s authority to negotiate prescription drug costs, letting drug companies raise prices without consequence, and repealing $35 insulin and the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap in the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Transitions Medicare to a system that would raise premiums for many seniors.

Congressional Republicans are demanding these reckless cuts in order to make room for another $5.5 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and big corporations—including by providing massive tax cuts for billionaire investors, repealing President Biden’s minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations, and weakening the IRS’s ability to make wealthy tax cheats pay the taxes they owe.

At the same time, the Republican Study Committee budget would also require a roughly 31% cut to non-defense discretionary spending, which would force devastating cuts to countless programs that hardworking Americans count on. What would these cuts mean for seniors and people with disabilities who call for assistance with their Social Security and Medicare?

• Social Security: People applying for disability benefits would have to wait at least two months longer for a decision. With fewer staff available, seniors would also be forced to endure longer wait times when they call for assistance with Social Security, and many Social Security field offices would be forced to close or shorten the hours they are open to the public.

• Medicare: Seniors and people with disabilities in states across the country would be forced to endure longer wait times when they call the Medicare call center, potentially increasing average wait times from five to more than twelve minutes.

Below is a state-by-state breakdown showing how many Americans would face longer wait times when calling for assistance with Medicare and Social Security under the Republican Study Committee budget:

This analysis assumes an across-the-board reduction of roughly 31% compared to the currently enacted FY 2024 levels for non-defense discretionary (NDD) accounts. This aligns with the Republican Study Committee Budget, which would cut NDD base funding to $534 billion in FY 2025, a roughly 31% reduction from the funding provided in the enacted FY 2024 bills.

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