House Republicans are barreling into a crucial week in their effort to pass President Trump’s legislative agenda, with key policy hang-ups threatening to upend leadership’s timeline for approving the sprawling package.
Those disagreements have already prompted delays as lawmakers haggle over how to address contentious issues while meeting deficit reduction targets.
The Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees areas including Medicaid and green tax credits, po...
The inconvenient truth about Republican Medicaid fraud claims
Few lines are more central to the congressional Republican leadership’s elevator pitch than the idea that we will get major savings by cutting Medicaid fraud, not Medicaid benefits.
This sales pitch is no small deal to this White House. A president seeking to pass his tax bill with slim congressional majorities could be tanked by a handful of Republicans afraid they’ll lose seats. Those seats could be at risk if Republicans are seen as paying for tax cuts to the...
Whole Hog Politics: How Trump misspent his political capital
On the menu: That Musk-y aroma; warning signs for GOP in Virginia; Dems clash over high-profile post; former Atlanta mayor eyes governorship; you’re calling from where?
“Political capital” is one of the most abused ideas in Washington because it so often is thought of as a savings account rather than an investment fund.
The conventional wisdom every four years is that a newly elected (or reelected) president has “more political capital than he ever wil...
House conservatives call for controversial Medicaid changes in reconciliation
A group of House conservatives is calling for significant “structural reforms” of Medicaid as part of the Republican reconciliation legislation, illustrating the seemingly intractable differences across GOP factions.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and signed by 19 others, the lawmakers said the GOP conference must pursue “meaningful reforms” in reconciliation, including eliminating the enhanced federal matching funds for states that expanded Med...
[Correspondence] Medicaid cuts, mortality, and health-care expenditure in the USA
The United States Congress has proposed cuts to Medicaid, reversing the Affordable Care Act expansion.1 These cuts could increase mortality and financial hardship for enrollees while straining health-care providers, especially in rural and underserved areas. Here, we estimate the potential effect on mortality and catastrophic health-care expenditures, defined as out-of-pocket costs exceeding 30% of household income.
The real cost of smaller companies cutting back on health benefits
While not legally mandated at a federal level, health insurance is generally considered to be an essential employee benefit in the U.S.
As a result, employer-sponsored health insurance remains the cornerstone of American healthcare.
However, for those working for smaller businesses, particularly businesses with less than 50 employees, access to healthcare is becoming increasingly precarious.
For starters, smaller businesses aren’t subject to the same requir...
The next 100 days will reveal how the White House handles debt
One hundred days into President Trump's second term, your feelings about the administration’s performance so far probably depend in large part on how you voted.
The White House and its allies will say that the most important thing has been immigration, pitching its border and interior enforcement as a stunning success — with a good bit of supporting evidence.
Democrats, on the other hand, are ceaselessly reminding people of the administration's shortcomin...
Medicaid work-requirements are great, but states need flexibility to make them work
I was the first governor to implement work requirements on the working-age population that was on Medicaid. So I feel I have some standing to offer observations on what happened in Arkansas — a few lessons learned and recommendations to Congress as it considers a federal mandate on states to impose work and work-related activities as a condition of Medicaid eligibility.
For a number of reasons, I am firmly in favor of work requirements for able-bodied working-age adults on Med...
Trump’s war with judiciary dominates first 100 days
President Trump has picked dozens of fights since returning to the White House, but few have been so unrelenting as his war with the courts.
Amid nearly 250 lawsuits challenging his agenda in his first 100 days, Trump has made his focus the judges overseeing them.
In courtrooms, his Justice Department has argued that the judiciary has no place sticking its nose in the executive’s business. His own attacks are much starker, ...
GOP wrestles with disagreements over Medicaid cuts
A key House committee is pushing forward with trying to advance its portion of President Trump’s legislative agenda next week, even as Republicans disagree over how deeply to cut Medicaid.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning a May 7 meeting to finalize and advance its portion of the bill, leaving little time for members to iron out differences. The legislation calls for the committee to find $880 billion in savings over a decade, with most of it expected to ...