Exclusive: Sen. Hawley doesn't want to "experiment" with rural hospital funding
Why it matters: Hawley is positioning himself as a key defender of the Medicaid program, even after voting to cut Medicaid through President Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
The cuts to Medicaid include rolling back nearly $1 trillion in funding over the next 10 years, and make changes the provider tax.
Driving the news:"My concern is, is what result would it really have?" Hawley asked about the long term affects of the provider tax on rural hospitals.
"Would it force us to go out and find new funding in other places?" he asked. "Would it force us to raise taxes in some areas? I don't know the answer that, and I don't want to risk it. I don't want to take the experiment."
Hawley commended Republicans for capturing the votes of working class, blue collar Americans, but pointed out that the party now needs to deliver policies that benefit them.
"Does that mean that they're in the Republican Party to stay forever? I don't think so," he said. "It means they're giving the Republican Party a shot."
Context: Hawley introduced the "Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act" earlier this month to block any future cuts to Medicaid.
His bill would repeal the provider tax moratorium and the reduction of provider tax authority, which would restore part of the money that states rely on to fund their programs.
The bill would also double the Rural Health Transformation Fund from $50 billion to $100 billion.
By the numbers: About 1.2 million people are enrolled in Medicaid in Missouri, 50% of whom are children. The federal government funds 78% of total Medicaid spending in Missouri, according to a May report from KFF.
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