Health care is going to play a key role in Republicans’ budget reconciliation efforts, but they risk failure by repeating the mistakes of 2017.
During the first Trump administration, Republicans famously pursued a longstanding campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. However, the effort went down in flames after it became clear that there were policy, political and process concerns that prevented Republicans from coalescing around a single proposal.
As the...
Month: March 2025
The looming budget question: Will Medicaid cuts fund tax cuts?
The challenge of restoring fiscal responsibility will be on full display in the months ahead following the passage of the House of Representatives budget resolution for the 2025 fiscal year on Feb. 25.
It set the stage for legislation that can circumvent the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and pass with a simple majority. While it does not include specific changes to spending and taxes, it specifies which House committees should finance deficits in reconci...
Oz vows to make Americans healthier but dodges questions on Trump cuts
TV doctor and former heart surgeon vows to fight healthcare fraud at Senate hearing for health role
Dr Mehmet Oz promised senators on Friday to fight healthcare fraud and push to make Americans healthier if he becomes the next leader of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.But the former heart surgeon and TV personality dodged several opportunities to say broadly whether he would oppose cuts to Medicaid, the government-funded program for people with low inc...
Watch live: Dr. Oz testifies at Senate confirmation hearing
Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician and television host, will testify before the Senate Finance Committee on Friday for his confirmation hearing to be head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
If confirmed, Oz would take the helm of a $1.5 trillion agency. It sets payment rates for doctors, hospitals and insurers, while also overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act — programs that provide cov...
Restore Medicaid’s intent: Prioritize the most vulnerable over able-bodied childless adults
As Republicans unveil proposed cuts to government programs, they should take this opportunity to reform a program that is the fourth-largest driver of spending: Medicaid.
Congress should refocus the program on its original intent: vulnerable Americans, especially those with disabilities who have nowhere else to turn for health coverage.
Nearly 700,000 people with disabilities are sitting on Medicaid waitlists for vital home and community-based care, and they will ...
Trump eyes slashing ACA enrollment period
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Trump proposes cutting ACA enrollment period, ending ‘Dreamer’ coverage
The Trump administration is proposing to shorten ObamaCare's annual open enrollment period by a month, a move the administration said is aimed at helping consumers pick the right plan.
According to a proposed rule released Monday, open enrollment would run from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15, instead of through Jan. 15.
"This proposal aims to reduce consumer confusion, streamline the enrollment process, align more closely with open enrollment dates for many employer...
Scott Perry says no one ‘legitimately’ on Medicaid will lose coverage
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) suggested on Sunday that no one "legitimately" on Medicaid will lose their coverage due to GOP efforts to cut spending.
In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” anchor Chris Stirewalt noted that, for Republicans to achieve the kind of steep spending cuts they have targeted, cuts will likely have to target more than just waste, fraud and abuse.
Stirewalt noted that the Office of Management and Budget has said only about 4 percent of ...
Tea Party movement finds a new champion in Trump
Tea Party stalwarts who have seen their movement fizzle are finding a new champion in President Trump and see his second administration as a culmination and validation of their efforts.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who gave his first political speech at a Tea Party rally in Oshkosh, Wis., in 2009 as the movement was picking up steam, said he saw parallels when attending Trump rallies in recent years in terms of enthusiasm and the types of supporters it attracted.
“The ...
How Trump is weaponizing federal spending power
“I’ll see you in court.”
That promise was made by Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) in response to Trump’s threat to withhold all federal funding from her state unless it complies with his executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. It has become a rallying cry of sorts for progressives desperate for any Democratic politician to stand up to Trump and Elon Musk in their dizzying attempt to dismantle the federal government and remake socie...