Latest news with #BudgetReconciliation
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP sneaks 10-year halt to State-driven AI regulation into budget bill
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. House republicans are trying to sneak a 10-year pause on AI regulation into the Budget Reconciliation bill. Representative Brett Guthrie (R-KY), who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, introduced a provision to the Budget Reconciliation bill last Sunday night that will prevent states and local governments from enforcing any legislation on AI. According to 404 Media, this limitation was inserted into an already controversial bill and would take away the power of individual states to regulate artificial intelligence as they would see fit. The text of the proposal, which is under Title IV, Subtitle C, Part 2c of the bill, says, 'In general — except as provided in paragraph (2), no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.' This means that states will lose power over anything related to AI, as they cannot implement their own rules and must follow the federal directive. Several states have already enacted laws that control the use of AI in their respective territories. For example, California mandates that health care providers must tell their patients if they use generative AI to communicate with them. Furthermore, AI developers in the state must document and publicly share the information about the data they used to train their models — a crucial law to help prevent AI companies from stealing copyrighted data. New York also requires businesses that use AI for hiring to conduct audits of their tools to avoid any bias. The bill's text covers a broad spectrum of AI, including models, systems, and even 'automated decision systems'. This means that both new AI models and old algorithms that can make automated decisions are covered by the federal law. Many AI and tech companies have been trying to get closer to the new administration. Several key personalities involved in AI have become key members of the administration, including Elon Musk, former PayPal COO David Sacks, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who has invested in Facebook, Twitter, and OpenAI. The current government has also suspended or reversed former President Biden's executive orders aimed at reducing the threat of uncontrolled AI development. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
46 State Medical Associations Urge Senate to Reject Medicaid Cuts in H.R. 1
The House Budget Reconciliation bill will cause at least 7.8 million Medicaid enrollees to lose their health care coverage. SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Just days ahead of an expected Senate vote on H.R. 1, 46 state medical associations, as part of Physicians for Medicaid have sent a letter to the United States Senate urging them to reject the dangerous cuts to Medicaid proposed in H.R. 1 that will cause millions of patients to lose coverage and even more to lose access to care - children, pregnant women, seniors, veterans, the disabled and working families. Statewide hospital associations have also weighed in, as proposed cuts impact all providers, including physicians and hospitals. The bill, which includes $200 billion in cuts to the existing and longstanding provider taxes, would have a catastrophic effect on state budgets and the country's entire health care delivery system and would impact 49 state Medicaid programs. Provider taxes have been authorized under federal law, approved by both Republican and Democratic administrations, and affirmed by state legislatures in 49 states for decades. They are a legitimate financing mechanism used by states in partnership with the federal government to fund essential health services and have kept rural hospitals, maternity wards, nursing homes, and physician practices open. The bill also imposes damaging changes to federal student loan programs making it harder for students to pursue medical careers at a time of critical physician shortages. We urge the Senate to pursue more balanced solutions that expand the physician workforce and preserve Medicaid for our patients. "If these provider tax cuts are enacted, it will create significant gaps in State budgets, forcing states to raise taxes, or reduce benefits, coverage, and provider payments. These reductions will lead to even more crowding of emergency departments and as the uncompensated care burdens grow from patients losing coverage, many rural hospitals, nursing homes, and community physician practices will be forced to close to all patients," the letter says. There are three main provisions in H.R. 1 (as passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2025) that will drastically limit or eliminate existing provider taxes nationwide. These provisions below apply to all provider taxes, including hospitals, nursing homes, managed care organizations, and other provider categories. Moratorium on New or Increased Provider Taxes (SEC. 44132) – Under the provisions of H.R. 1, none of these taxes could be increased after the passage and enactment of the law nor can any new taxes be adopted by the state Legislatures (there are 19 categories of provider taxes). This provision would freeze taxes and not keep pace with increasing health care costs over time. It is also not equitable between states. Revising Payments for Certain State Directed Payments (SEC. 44133) – Once a provider tax is established, state Medicaid programs can fund supplemental or enhanced payments to providers using a variety of rate methodologies. Under H.R. 1, any future directed payments would be limited to the Medicare payment rate. Medicare physician payment rates are already 33% behind the costs to provide health care. These rates will not keep pace for public hospitals and physician specialists that care for the sickest patients nationwide. Requirements Regarding Waiver of Uniform Tax Requirement for Medicaid Provider Tax (SEC. 44134) – The language in H.R. 1 requires provider taxes in multiple states to uniformly tax hospitals, nursing homes, and managed care organizations within each category of provider tax. The uniformity requirement will be extremely difficult for most states to meet and therefore, it eliminates multiple provider taxes in many states. The HHS Secretary has discretion to allow for a transition period, which is not something upon which states can rely. "These provisions will destabilize state health systems, reduce access to care, and worsen physician shortages. Instead, we encourage you to protect Medicaid – a proven, cost-effective safety net that serves 80 million vulnerable Americans," the letter concluded. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE California Medical Association; Physicians for Medicaid Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Budget Reconciliation Won't Happen Quickly: Marc Short
Marc Short, Former Chief of Staff to Former Vice President Mike Pence, discusses House Republicans still working on a framework for their Budget Reconciliation Bill and the on-going debate if the legislation will be one or two bills. He talks about what will possibly be omitted from the Budget Reconciliation that the President wants, how a second Trump presidency compares to the first, and his view on President Trump pardoning the January 6th insurrectionists. Marc Short speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
