Senators plan changes to budget bill

Senate Republicans plan to rewrite the narrowly passed House budget bill. Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., are threatening to oppose Medicaid changes resulting in cuts to benefits. They also raised concerns with provisions limiting states’ abilities to use health care provider taxes to collect additional federal Medicaid funding. They worry cuts in federal Medicaid funding to states could cause rural hospitals to close. Meanwhile, a New England Journal of Medicine study and a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper conclude Medicaid is saving lives. (The Hill article, 5/23/25)