Protect Medicaid and SNAP Amid Budget Talks, AARP Tells Congress

Millions of older Americans rely on the programs for medical care or food

Emily Paulin,

AARP

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Published March 14, 2025

Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

As Congress drafts a new federal budget, AARP is urging federal lawmakers to safeguard funding for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), two programs that are lifelines for millions of older Americans.

AARP sent letters March 6 to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce outlining Medicaid’s critical role in providing essential health care and long-term care to older, low-income Americans.

“As your committee considers funding and policy changes that could impact Medicaid, we urge you to keep in mind those who rely on Medicaid to stay in their own homes and communities as they age, get basic health care, or access nursing home care,” wrote Bill Sweeney, AARP senior vice president for government affairs.

That same day, we sent letters to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry and the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture outlining SNAP’s key role in helping feed roughly 10 million households with adults 50 and older.

“With rising food prices, rising food insecurity, and a growing aging population, it is more important than ever to connect eligible older adults to SNAP and other nutrition assistance,” Sweeney wrote. “Harmful changes to SNAP would make it harder for vulnerable older adults to access the nutrition they need.”

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AARP’s letters were sent to committees currently searching for spending cuts to help offset the cost of this year’s upcoming tax bill. The House passed a sweeping budget resolution Feb. 25 that instructs the Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees Medicaid, to cut $880 billion in spending between 2025 and 2034. While the resolution doesn’t specify where cuts should be made, Medicaid is a likely target. It’s one of the largest programs the committee oversees, providing coverage to more than 72 million Americans and costing the federal government roughly $600 billion per year.

SNAP, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, also appears at risk. The House budget resolution instructs the Committee of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, to cut $230 billion in spending for the decade. According to government data, more than 40 million people receive SNAP benefits monthly, with federal SNAP spending totaling roughly $113 billion per year.

The Senate is yet to bring the House-passed budget resolution to the floor for debate or approval, and lawmakers are currently focused on trying to pass a continuing resolution needed to avert a partial government shutdown. But both the House and Senate must agree on a common budget resolution if they are to pass the new tax and spending bill via the reconciliation process.

Cuts to Medicaid will have “serious implications”

More than 8 million Americans ages 65 and older and roughly 9 million Americans ages 50 to 64 are enrolled in Medicaid, AARP research shows. Enrollees 65-plus and those with disabilities often rely on Medicaid to help with their cost sharing in Medicare, or to pay for their long-term care needs (Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care), including nursing home care, home health aides, personal care services and home modifications. Enrollees ages 50 to 64 without a disability rely on Medicaid for health care, including everything from physician visits to hospital stays and prescription drugs.

In our letter to lawmakers, we highlight Medicaid's vital role in rural communities, where more than 2.7 million Americans 50 and older are enrolled in the program.

“Hospitals and health and long-term care providers are the cornerstones of vibrant communities in small-town America, which are already struggling,” Sweeney wrote. “Cuts to Medicaid would have serious implications for rural health care and the millions of older Americans who need care close to home.”

More than half of all funds for long-term care in America come from Medicaid, but the country is “on the brink of a serious long-term care crisis,” we note in our letter. AARP welcomes improvements to Medicaid coverage, such as a move away from widespread institutional care to more home- and community-based care. While we welcome debate on how to address the challenges, we oppose large-scale cuts to the program that will “threaten millions of seniors with disruption to the care they need.”

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“We respectfully urge you to reject proposals that would cut services or eligibility, shift costs to states, or burden older Americans with additional red tape or reporting requirements,” Sweeney wrote.

AARP also recently joined the Modern Medicaid Alliance, a coalition of roughly 100 national and regional advocacy organizations committed to protecting Medicaid.

SNAP assistance critical as food insecurity rises

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program that provides low-income people and families with funding to supplement grocery bills. It serves roughly 10 million households that include adults 50 and older, according to AARP research. In 2022, these households received an average benefit of $185 per month.

Protecting SNAP funding is critical as food insecurity among older adults increases, AARP wrote to lawmakers. In 2023, 12.6 million older adults — 1 in 10 — struggled to access adequate nutrition, according to government data.

“These individuals, often on fixed incomes, face unique challenges such as higher healthcare costs and limited mobility,” Sweeney wrote. “They are making difficult trade-offs every day between paying for basic necessities like food and medicine or paying their rent.”

Our letter noted that research shows SNAP participation is also linked to reduced health care costs, hospital and emergency room visits and nursing home admissions.

“The program provides modest support to help meet basic nutritional needs, which in turn can support improved health outcomes and help people maintain independence as they age,” Sweeney wrote. “In short, SNAP is a sound investment.”

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Emily Paulin is an editor at aarp.org who covers nursing homes, health care, and federal and state policy. Her work has also appeared in Broadsheet, an Australian lifestyle publication.