Healthcare for All? Public Perspectives on Potential Medicaid Funding Cuts

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By The VCU Wilder School Office of Research and Outreach
August 8, 2025

With so many issues up for debate in today’s contentious political climate, one of the topics at the forefront of conversations is health insurance. Though many Americans receive health insurance through their jobs, others are eligible for Medicaid – a type of health insurance provided to certain categories of individuals with lower incomes. As of January 2025, about 71.4 million people across the country were enrolled in Medicaid; this included about 41.4 million adults and 37.4 million children.

Medicaid funding and eligibility is traditionally determined at both the state and federal levels, though there have been recent proposals to reduce Medicaid funding at the federal level (which could in turn impact state funding). These cuts and changes include but are not limited to:

• Mandatory work and reporting requirements for some adults on Medicaid
• Revisiting state directed payment limits
• Prohibiting certain provisions in a previous rule that would simplify the Medicaid eligibility and renewal process
• More frequent redeterminations of eligibility

To get a better understanding of how people in Virginia feel about these potential cuts to Medicaid that would have the potential to impact hundreds of thousands of residents, the Summer 2025 Wilder School Commonwealth Poll asked the following question:

Proposed federal budget plans include reducing Medicaid funding by $880 billion over the next decade. This would potentially cause up to 630,000 Virginians to lose Medicaid coverage due to a Virginia ‘trigger law’ related to federal Medicaid funding in the Commonwealth. The “trigger law” means that Medicaid specifically in Virginia would be automatically terminated if federal funding for the program falls below 90%. Do you support or oppose these federal Medicaid cuts, considering their potential impact on Virginia’s healthcare system?

The Commonwealth Poll found that a majority of registered voters in Virginia (67 percent) opposed proposed federal Medicaid cuts. While support for the cuts was higher among Republicans (with 47 percent supporting), it remained a minority position for the party affiliation. Opposition was strong among Independents (with 71 percent opposing) and nearly unanimous among Democrats (with 94 percent opposing).

Data for this poll was obtained via telephone interviews with a representative sample of 809 adults, ages 18 or older, living in Virginia. Telephone interviews were conducted by landline and cell phone from June 19 to July 3, 2025. The margin of error was +/- 4.16 percent.

In addition to political affiliation, the poll also found that majorities of all age groups, races/ethnicities, genders and income levels in Virginia opposed the cuts. Opposition was especially high among women (with 73 percent opposed), those under the age of 24 (with 75 percent opposed), those making under $35,000 per year (82 percent opposed) and Black / African American individuals (with 91 percent opposed).

These findings are aligned with those of national polls. In a June 2025 survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 72 percent of adults said that they were worried that a federal Medicaid reduction would lead to an increase in children and adults in the United States without health insurance. Of that 72 percent, 46 percent said that they were “very worried” and 26 percent said that they were “somewhat worried.” The KFF data also show that Medicaid enrollees represent a wide range of political viewpoints, with 27 percent identifying as Republicans, 36 percent identifying as Independents and 37 percent identifying as Democrats.

Additionally, a majority said that they were concerned about negative impacts on hospitals and nursing homes in their communities (70 percent showing concern) and negative impacts on their personal ability to get and pay for health care for their family (55 percent showing concern). Concern at the personal level was especially high among those making less than $40,000 annually (72 percent showing concern), Hispanic individuals (68 percent showing concern), Black individuals (77 percent showing concern) and single mothers (85 percent showing concern).

While the future of healthcare and other social services in the United States remains uncertain, the debates discussed in this article are likely to continue and the future of Medicaid remains unknown. With high levels of support from people of various demographics, will Medicaid funding remain in place? Or are funding cuts imminent? The answer to these questions remains to be seen. As policymakers consider their stances on new proposals, polls such as those discussed here can provide valuable insight into the preferences of those they serve and in turn how a vote for or against Medicaid funding might be viewed by constituents.

---

Author: The Wilder School’s Office of Research and Outreach advances research and training that informs public policy and decisionmaking to improve our communities. Drawing on the wide-ranging expertise of Wilder School faculty, we provide services including polling, research support, leadership development and training and program evaluation to clients in governments, nonprofits, businesses and the public across Virginia and beyond. Twitter: @VCUWilderSchool

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...