The House is planning to vote on a budget resolution next week that would likely include up to $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise's (R-La.) office confirmed the vote to The Hill on Wednesday.
The House bill would address border security, defense, energy and tax priorities in a single bill. To help pay for extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), House Republicans last week submitted a budget resolution that calls for the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, to find $880 billion in savings, or nearly half of the overall spending cuts over a decade. House Republicans have suggested these cuts come at least in part through Medicaid.
President Donald Trump has endorsed the House plan but on Fox News' Sean Hannity on Tuesday said he would not cut Medicare, Medicaid, "none of that stuff," according to rollcall.
Lawmakers are reportedly cautioning House leadership against Medicaid cuts. Republicans in competitive districts are fretting about the political implications of cutting one of the most popular federal programs, according to strengthenhealthcare.org.
On Wednesday, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, held an event at Central Jersey Medical Center to highlight the consequences of House Republicans' proposed budget cuts to Medicaid.
Meanwhile, the Senate is working on its own budget resolution, but in two parts. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) announced Tuesday that the Senate will move forward with a vote on a budget proposal this week, according to CBS News. The first part is focused on border security, defense and energy, while the second would address the extension of the 2017 tax cuts.
Trump endorses the House budget resolution as the faster path to passage.
But Senate Republican leaders plan to stick to a two-bill approach and pursue a separate reconciliation measure later in the year to extend the expiring tax policies, according to the rollcall report. That second package could potentially deal with Medicaid, but Republicans have acknowledged that overhauling the politically popular program would be an uphill battle.
Senate Republican leaders have said that in the resolution currently being debated, they intend to find cost savings by repealing a Biden administration nursing home staffing rule to help pay for Trump's immigration priorities, according to rollcall.
An estimated one in five people have Medicaid, but this varies across the states, according to a recent KFF report.
The percentage of people who report having Medicaid is 21% nationally but ranges from 11% in Utah to 34% in New Mexico. The percentage tends to be higher in the 41 states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Rates of Medicaid coverage are also higher in states with lower average incomes and lower rates of health insurance offered through employers.
Correction: The amount of money that could potentially be cut from Medicaid was incorrectly given. The correct amount is $880 billion. HFN apologizes for the error.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org