House Republicans led by Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington are proposing to cut federal health spending to help pay for a new budget reconciliation bill containing up to $200 billion for the Iran war and immigration enforcement. The CBO estimates the proposed ACA cost-sharing reduction changes alone would increase out-of-pocket premium costs and drive 300,000 more Americans off insurance by 2034.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren drew the line starkly: “Republicans in Congress want to cut Americans' healthcare to pay for more war in Iran. Let that sink in.”
The healthcare-for-war trade-off comes on top of the $1 trillion already cut from Medicaid in the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which imposed first-time work requirements and is expected to strip coverage from 15 million Americans. At least 19 health facilities have closed across 11 states. Over half of ACA reenrollees have had to reduce spending on essentials.
Arrington wants the reconciliation passed in “60 to 90 days” and acknowledged that including Medicare savings would open up “a false narrative that we're cutting Medicare” — a tacit admission that the cuts are real, he just doesn't want them described accurately.
The $200 billion figure covers both Iran war costs and ICE funding that triggered the partial government shutdown (now in its seventh week, with TSA workers still unpaid). Trump's war, which he started without congressional authorization, is now being funded by stripping healthcare from the people he's supposed to serve.