Why isn’t this breaking news? The GOP blew $20B bombing Iran and now wants to cut $30B from your healthcare
Extreme measures.
Republicans in Congress are now considering significant cuts to federal healthcare spending as a way to help fund a massive budget bill that could include up to $200 billion for the Iran war and immigration enforcement. This move is definitely going to spark some serious controversy, opening up the GOP to some tough election-year criticism about slashing healthcare to pay for a war that’s not exactly popular.
According to Axios, top House Republicans are exploring various healthcare offsets, much like they did during last year’s budget debate. That earlier debate led to deep cuts in federal Medicaid spending and even introduced work requirements for the first time. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) mentioned that they’re looking into “items right now, especially in the areas of fraud and waste and abuse that we’re working through with our members.”
One idea being revived by House Budget Committee chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) is to adjust how Affordable Care Act (ACA) payments, known as cost-sharing reductions, are funded. The Congressional Budget Office previously found that this specific move would actually lower overall benchmark ACA premiums by 11%. However, it would also result in 300,000 more uninsured people.
It sounds like the Republicans are trying to find savings wherever they can
The proposal would cut the subsidy amount some enrollees receive, which means their out-of-pocket premium costs would go up. On the flip side, the government would save over $30 billion. That’s a huge chunk of change, but it comes with a real cost for individuals.
These discussions are still in the early stages, so it’s not clear exactly how the goal of fighting fraud will translate into actual legislative language. The main driver behind all this is the need to pay for the war in Iran and to fund ICE, which actually triggered a partial government shutdown not too long ago.
Democrats are opposing both of these funding priorities, which means Republicans are gearing up to use the party-line process known as reconciliation to get around a Senate filibuster. Many Republicans really want any bill to be fully paid for, and that’s where these potential healthcare changes come into play. However, moderate Republicans are likely to push back against any policies that could be widely seen as cuts.
These are risks that could prove catastrophic especially with an election year on the horizon
Even a few defections could sink the whole effort in the House. Scalise acknowledged the need to “put the vote coalition together.” When asked about these potential offsets, moderate Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) was pretty noncommittal, saying, “I’ll see.” He added, “I mean, I really don’t know what they’re gonna do. I think [Speaker] Mike Johnson will be smart.”
President Donald Trump is also pushing Congress to enact his “most favored nation” proposal into law. This idea would link US drug prices to the lower prices paid abroad. A new reconciliation bill could be the vehicle for this, but GOP congressional leadership has been pretty cool to the idea, having declined to include it in last year’s bill.
Scalise dodged the question when asked about including ‘most favored nation’ last week, saying, “Right now, the committee hasn’t moved anything,” and instead pivoted to talk about the House Energy and Commerce Committee working on a “really important price transparency bill.”
Arrington also personally expressed a desire to include two healthcare savers in Medicare. One, called “site-neutral” payments, would equalize payments across hospital outpatient facilities and doctors’ offices. The second would crack down on what critics describe as insurance company gaming of the Medicare Advantage system through “upcoding” of patients’ medical conditions. However, he was skeptical that these could create “a false narrative that we’re cutting Medicare.”
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
