Key Point: “‘The $200 billion growth [Bresnahan’s] talking about is clearly about cost and not coverage, and we know that, according to our wallets, costs are rising,’ Michelle Rothenbecker, the Chief of Staff with Action Together NEPA, said in an interview with The Keystone. … ‘I just don’t think that he is living the same lifestyle, or the same life that a lot of people in Luzerne County and Lackawanna County are living as their reality,’ Rothenbecker said. ‘People are seeing a lot less money in their paychecks, but they’re also not seeing their money going as far.’” 

The Keystone: Rep. Rob Bresnahan claims Medicaid will grow by $200 billion after voting for cuts

By Sean Kitchen

• As US Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Lackawanna) makes claims about President Donald Trump’s $1 trillion cut to Medicaid, questions about his math arise. 

• “Speaking of also what’s gonna grow: Medicaid, by $200 billion over the next 10 years,” Bresnahan said on the Volpe Report alongside US House Speaker Mike Johnson. 

• “I really take offense to someone saying that we are cutting the Medicaid programs, because this is actually going to continue to grow into the tune of $200 billion.”

• “[Bresnahan’s statement] is an extremely misleading statement,” Laura Beltran, Director of Policy and Research at the Pennsylvania Policy Center, told The Keystone. 

• “ We know from the Congressional Budget Office, we are expecting around $900 billion to $990 billion in cuts, and that $200 billion claim is basically that.” 

• The Pennsylvania Department of Humans Services estimates that 310,000 residents will lose their health care coverage because of these cuts with over 21,000 of Bresnahan’s constituents being impacted by the cuts. 

• “ The $200 billion growth [Bresnahan’s] talking about is clearly about cost and not coverage, and we know that, according to our wallets, costs are rising,” Michelle Rothenbecker, the Chief of Staff with Action Together NEPA, said in an interview with The Keystone. 

• Bresnahan has become one of Congress’ most prolific stock traders since January. A month before voting for the budget, the New York Times reported that Bresnahan sold between $100,000 and $250,000 in bonds from the Allegheny County Hospital Development Authority for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center after it was announced that 10 rural hospitals were at risk of closing.

• “I just don’t think that he is living the same lifestyle, or the same life that a lot of people in Luzerne County and Lackawanna County are living as their reality,” Rothenbecker said. “People are seeing a lot less money in their paychecks, but they’re also not seeing their money going as far.”