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That no one who currently is in the medicaid program is affected in any way, which is reflected in the senate bill, and he's pleased with that. so i think he is very pleased with that bill. >> joining us now is andy slavitt, the former acting administrator for the centers for medicare and medicaid services where he served through 2017. thanks for being part of our special coverage. what does medicaid do that's most important for the health of regular americans and what would you say being effected under this bill? >> well, medicaid's one of the most essential programs in our country and one of...

Most essential programs in our country and one of the most essential promises to american families. in the real world, half the babies born in the country are paid for by medicaid. half the people in the program are kids. and then 70% of the funds go to care for people who are either living in nursing homes or who are living with a disability. so it's a vital program. it's a program that doesn't have a lot of slack in it. and the plan that we see before us in the senate would take that program and cut it by 25%, which i think we can only interpret to mean that the services for those individual...

Thousands of nevadans, he said. nevada one of the 31 states that already did expand medicaid through the trigger from obamacare. here's what white house press secretary sean spicer had to say about the senate bill and medicaid. he's talked about having heart, and he likes a lot of the reforms that have been in there. he's committed to making sure that no one who currently is in the medicaid program is affected in any way, which is reflected in the senate bill, and he's pleased with that. so i think he is very pleased with that bill. >> joining us now is andy slav et, the former acting admini...

Does. it absolutely means he has to show his taxes. >> thank you for joining us and sharing your thoughts. >> i just want to know, looking forward, since it's tax season, trump is promising tax reform. can you ask them one thing that they'd like to see if trump's tax reform plan? >> reporter: sure. the question that was asked of me to ask you guys is what would you like to see in the future in terms of tax reform, in terms of trump's plan. is that something that you've given thought to? >> in terms of tax reform, i don't want him to cut essential programs to fund the military or fund the wall ...

Mainly because he has said very specifically he will seek to destroy a woman's right to health care. he's against the affordable care act, in favor of repealing it without effectively replacing it. he's in favor of block granting medicaid. all of these kinds of stands and others lead me to vote against his nomination. he is, in effect, against many essential programs and policies that he's been nominated to carry out. and i think that is a disservice to those programs and the people they serve and to the nation. >> senator, i assume you acknowledge that the republicans, they have the majority ...