Senate Republicans were dealt a significant blow Thursday when Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that major pieces of the GOP megabill’s Medicaid policy can’t pass with a simple majority.
Much of the savings in the bill come from Medicaid cuts, and the ruling impacts several of the largest and most controversial ones, including a plan to slash states’ use of health care provider taxes as well as several measures related to health care for immigrants....
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Trump bill hits Senate buzzsaw
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Senate referee rejects key Medicaid cuts in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has rejected key Medicaid provisions in the Senate GOP megabill, a ruling that appears to strike a major blow to Republicans' strategy for cutting federal spending.
The Senate's referee rejected a plan to cap states’ use of health care provider taxes to collect more federal Medicaid funding, a proposal that would have generated hundreds of billions of dollars in savings to offset the cost of making President Trump’s corporate tax ...
Parliamentarian rejects GOP attempt to prohibit federal subsidies for health plans that cover abortion services
The Senate parliamentarian ruled on Wednesday to reject Republican language in the Senate megabill that would prohibit federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from going to qualified health plans that cover abortion services.
The Republican language in the bill would restrict the ACA’s cost-sharing subsidies from lowering the costs of plans that cover abortion services in about a dozen states, according to the Commonwealth Fund, an independent health research ...
RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisory panel to review shots for children
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly remade federal vaccine advisory panel will examine the cumulative effect of the childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule, the panel’s chair said Wednesday.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will also weigh recommendations for vaccines that have long been on the market, including those for measles and hepatitis B.
Martin Kulldorff made the announcement at the start of th...
As the ACA’s popularity reaches new heights, Republicans explore new ways to gut it
The good news for health care advocates is that the Affordable Care Act is quite popular. The bad news is the Republicans' megabill would sabotage "Obamacare."
More than 30 celebrities come out against SNAP, Medicaid cuts in GOP megabill
More than two dozen members of the entertainment industry issued an open letter to members of Congress on Wednesday urging them to reject sweeping cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid in the GOP's "big, beautiful" spending bill.
The open letter, released by Feeding America, was signed by 31 people, including high-profile Hollywood stars like Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Michelle Williams, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Sheryl Crow, ...
Who is NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani?
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani pulled off a surprising win in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded to Mamdani on Tuesday after the state Assembly member won over voters with his platform pushing for rent freezes, city-owned grocery stores and free buses.
In the ranked choice election with a field of 11 candidates, Mamdani earned 43.5 percent of first-place votes compared to Cuomo, who won 36.3 percent, accor...
Key GOP senator warns Medicaid cuts could spell political disaster for Republicans
Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), one of the most vulnerable Senate Republican incumbents facing re-election in 2026, warned Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) bluntly in a private meeting Tuesday that deep cuts to Medicaid could cost Republicans control of the House and Senate, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
Tillis, who has kept relatively quiet about the hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts proposed by the Senate Finance Committee, blaste...
House GOP moderates tell leadership they won’t back Senate tax bill over Medicaid cuts
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.&nbs...