Two members of Virginia’s congressional delegation discussed future Medicaid cuts this week.

As rumors of over $800 million in cuts swirl, Republican Morgan Griffith downplayed concerns, while Democrat Don Beyer warned of people losing their health care.

Virginia’s 9th District Republican Congressman Griffith said rumors of big cuts to Medicaid were overblown. Instead, he told a crowd in Abingdon recently that upcoming changes to the program that serves nearly two million Virginians would target “increases on growth,” remove the undocumented from the rolls and block what he said was an expected $1.4 billion in future spending on “transgender surgeries for minors.”

“In Democrat math, if you don’t spend as much as you wanted to spend 10 years out, that's a cut. In our kind of math, that's not a cut — that's trying to watch your wallet,” Griffith said in audio captured by freelance reporter Katie Thomason .

Fiscal watchdogs at the Peterson Foundation say Medicaid costs for states have risen nearly 9% since 2008, and federal spending on the program has increased by hundreds of billions of dollars over the same time.

According to KFF , formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federally funded programs like Medicaid, though the children of non-citizens may be enrolled.

And in a press conference Wednesday, Virginia’s 8th District Congressman Democrat Beyer laughed off claims about billions spent on transgender surgeries for minors.

“That’s a completely silly number from Morgan Griffith. Very little money of Medicaid is spent on transgender health care in any respect," Beyer said. "What is important? North of 600,000 Virginians are dependent on just Medicaid expansion.”

Griffith also mentioned Medicaid expansion over the weekend — stating “we’re not going to much.” But, if federal support for expansion drops below 90% Virginia must leave the program as required by state law.

Petersburg-area state Senator Lashrecse Aird is also pushing back on Griffith's concerns with Medicaid spending.

“Who's the actual face of receiving that care? Those are vulnerable children. Those are seniors living on a fixed income, those are individuals who otherwise would not have access to care," Aird said. "That's who he doesn’t want us to talk about. And that’s who it is in his district, that’s who it is in my district and that’s who it is throughout the commonwealth.”

A final proposal from the Republican-controlled Congress is due in the coming weeks.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio , was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association .