Ciscomani urges GOP leaders to protect Medicaid despite voting for budget resolution with cuts

An Arizona Republican congressman who voted for a budget resolution that all but mandates cuts to Medicaid said in a letter to GOP leadership that he won’t vote for any final budget package that cuts health care spending “for vulnerable populations.”

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a Republican from Tucson, signed the letter with a dozen congressional Republicans representing districts with large numbers of Medicaid recipients — most of whom, like Ciscomani, are also prime Democratic targets in 2026. 

“Balancing the federal budget must not come at the expense of those who depend on these benefits for their health and economic security,” the Republicans wrote.

Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that helps cover medical costs for some people with limited incomes. In Arizona, it is known as the Arizona Heath Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS. More than two million people in the Grand Canyon State — about 1 in 5 residents — receive health care through AHCCCS, including about 130,000 in Ciscomani’s district. 

While cuts to Medicaid spending shouldn’t be on the table, Ciscomani and his GOP colleagues said they support “targeted reforms to improve program integrity, reduce improper payments, and modernize delivery systems,” though what that means is unclear. A spokesman for Ciscomani did not respond to a request to specify what reforms the congressman wants to see enacted.

Ciscomani and the other 12 Republicans all voted for the GOP budget resolution earlier this month. That resolution is a roadmap for how the GOP majority intends to fund the government, including extending about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that were enacted in 2017 and are set to expire next year. 

In order to pay for some of the package, the House’s budget resolution instructs the committee that oversees Medicaid to cut $880 billion in spending during the next decade.

An analysis last month found that 660,000 Arizonans, including 1 in 6 seniors and nearly 200,000 children, would lose health care coverage under proposed Republican cuts to Medicaid.

Health care advocates were skeptical that Ciscomani and the others would actually oppose a budget that cut Medicaid to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. 

“Doctors welcome support from our representatives for protecting Medicaid for our patients and fellow Arizonans, but remind them that actions speak louder than words. A promise not to cut Medicaid for the most vulnerable Arizonans means nothing if it’s broken,” said Dr. Palmer Evans, an OBGYN in Tucson and constituent of Ciscomani.

Evans, who is a member of the Committee to Protect Health Care, added that Ciscomani’s support of the budget resolution — and its mandate to slash Medicaid spending — is concerning.

“There is no way to make cuts of this size without taking health care away from the most vulnerable patients,” he said. “We urge Rep. Ciscomani to stand with our patients and his constituents by actually voting against these cuts, not just paying lip service to them.”

This is actually the second letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican leaders that Ciscomani has sent urging them to not push Medicaid cuts. In February, he and other members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference urged against including Medicaid cuts in the budget resolution that he ultimately voted for.

“Congressman Ciscomani’s constant letters to Speaker Johnson prove he knows good and well that the only way that the budget he voted for achieves its goals is to cut Medicaid – something he promised he wouldn’t do,” Andrea Moreno, executive director of grassroots advocacy campaign Honest Arizona, said in a written statement. “As hard as he’s tried, Ciscomani can’t fool his constituents. He needs to come clean with them and keep his promise not to cut Arizonans’ health care.”

The Republicans were also clear about the political implications of cutting Medicaid.

“Communities like ours won us the majority, and we have a responsibility to deliver on the promises we made,” they wrote.

The letter was also signed by Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Jeff Hurd (R-CO), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Young Kim (R-CA), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), David Valadao (R-CA), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ) and Rob Wittman (R-VA).

Ciscomani, Bacon, Bresnahan, Kiggans, Kim, Lawler, Valadao and Wittman are all on Democrats’ list of targeted races in 2026.