More than a dozen House Republicans warned they won't support the Senate's version of the tax and spending bill because the proposed Medicaid cuts are too steep. Led by Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), 15 other vulnerable Republicans sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) saying they support the Medicaid reforms in the House version of the legislation, but the Senate Finance Committee proposal went too far.
The 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' that is making its way through Congress may put millions of people at risk of losing access to Medicaid. One reform that may prompt that loss of coverage — the implementation of new work requirements — was included in both the Senate and House versions of the bill. In 2034, about 4.8 million additional people would be uninsured based on work requirements in the House Republican budget bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan legislative scorekeeper.
Senate Republicans are scrambling to rewrite major parts of their 'big, beautiful bill' in deference to key holdouts and the chamber's parliamentarian as the clock ticks on a self-imposed deadline. GOP leaders are aiming to start voting Thursday, but senators emerged from a closed-door briefing on the status of the megabill Monday night saying that some of their biggest sticking points — ranging from key tax decisions to a deal on Medicaid — remain unresolved.
Strong payroll tax revenue gains and federal government contribution increases helped Medicare turn in strong results for 2024. The federal health insurance program is reporting $11.2 billion in "net change in assets," or operating profits, on $1.1 trillion in revenue, up from an operating loss of $12.4 billion on $1 trillion in revenue for 2023. The program ended the year covering 67.6 million people, up 1.3% from the number it was covering a year earlier.
CMS chief Dr. Mehmet Oz just indicated to a group of GOP chiefs of staff that they should stick with language closer to the House megabill's Medicaid language, especially on the politically explosive provider tax, according to two people granted anonymity to speak about a private meeting. It's a warning that the Senate should avoid deeper cuts, which House GOP leaders have privately said won't pass the House. People in the room also took that to mean the Senate should not pursue any politically explosive changes to the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is warning that President Trump's megabill could run off the tracks this week if Senate Republican leaders fail to address his GOP colleagues' concerns that deep cuts to Medicaid spending would devastate rural hospitals in their home states. Hawley said Republican leaders provided little detail Monday night about how they would help rural hospitals, nursing homes and community health care providers in rural areas.