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Article snippet: Medicaid could face crucial tests in 2018 at both the federal and state levels. Republicans in Congress failed in their attempts earlier this year to impose drastic cuts to the program as part of ObamaCare repeal, but GOP lawmakers could try again next year. The tax bill that MORE recently signed into law is projected to add $1 trillion to the federal deficit, making cuts to Medicaid an even more tempting target for some conservatives. “Medicaid is front and center in any budget exercises, and now that deficits have increased, it puts Medicaid squarely in the bulls eye,” said Joan Alker, the executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Speaker MORE (R-Wis.) has said he wants to bring down entitlement spending, saying in December that “health-care entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid are the big drivers of debt.” “The sensitivity of entitlements is such that you almost have to have a bipartisan agreement in order to achieve a result," McConnell told reporters in late December. Medicaid covers nearly 75 million people, and the program has proven resilient in the face of conservative opposition. Cindy Mann, a consultant at Manatt Health who ran Medicaid under former President Obama, said attacks on Medicaid have made it more popular. “Medicaid has always been supported by the people closest to it,” Mann said. Some Republican senators have recognized the political risks of Medicaid cuts, too. The GOP’s ObamaCare repeal pus... Link to the full article to read more