Latest news with #Hawley
USA Today
21 hours ago
- Health
- USA Today
GOP senator introduces bill to repeal Medicaid cuts in Trump tax law he voted to pass
WASHINGTON - Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill on July 15 that would repeal some of the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and domestic policy law, after Hawley voted to pass it earlier this month. Trump's law changes how states fund their portion of Medicaid. States have adopted "provider taxes" that assess taxes on hospitals and other health providers to leverage larger Medicaid payments from the federal government. The law would require states to reduce provider taxes to 3.5%, down from the current limit of 6% over the next few years. It also allocates $50 billion over five years for the rural health transformation program, aimed at supporting underfunded rural hospitals and strengthening access to care for rural residents. Hawley's bill, dubbed the 'Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act,' would repeal the reduction of provider tax authority. It would also double the rural health transformation fund to $100 billion, and extend the fund from five years to ten years. 'President Trump has always said we have to protect Medicaid for working people. Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect,' Hawley said in a statement. 'We should also increase our support for rural hospitals around the country. Under the recent reconciliation bill, Missouri will see an extra $1 billion for hospitals over the next four years. I want to see Medicaid reductions stopped and rural hospitals fully funded permanently.' Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware wrote on X, 'Just so I'm clear… he's introducing a bill….to repeal the bill… he voted for….two weeks ago?' Hawley was one of the most vocal Republicans opposing Medicaid cuts when the tax bill was negotiated in the Senate. He told reporters on June 28 that his party has some 'soul searching' to do on the issue. After much pressure from GOP leadership, the bill passed through the upper chamber on July 1 with a tie breaking vote by Vice President JD Vance. Hawley said after the bill passed that he 'will continue to do everything in my power to reverse future cuts to Medicaid.' Trump's law includes a number of other provisions aimed at reducing spending on Medicaid, including work requirements for able-bodied adults that will take effect in 2026. People between 19 and 64, for instance, would have to show that they are working at least 80 hours a month to be eligible for benefits. Contributing: Savannah Kuchar and Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY
The Hill
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Hill
Lieu: Hawley move shows ‘lie' about GOP Medicaid cuts
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) went after a new bill introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) that would repeal Medicaid cuts that President Trump signed into law earlier this month. 'One thing the bill does is for any Republican that's been saying, 'Oh, these weren't actually cuts to Medicaid,' it shows a lie to that,' Lieu said at the Hill Nation Summit, alluding to the GOP-backed 'big, beautiful bill.' Hawley's bill, introduced Tuesday, would repeal provisions that limit states' ability to tax health care providers, which most states use to fund their Medicaid obligations. It would also repeal a cap on state-directed payments, which are used to manage how Medicaid plans pay certain providers. Many of those existing measures were enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Trump on July 4. Hawley was one of several Senate Republicans who initially waffled on the bill's steep cuts to Medicaid, the health care program for low-income Americans, before voting in favor of the measure. The White House has maintained that the bill has 'no cuts to Medicaid.' At the Hill Nation Summit on Wednesday, Lieu said Democrats were eager to message around health care in the upcoming midterm elections. 'Our messaging is, if you want to elect the same person who voted for the cuts, you can do that, or you can elect a Democrat that's going to stop the cuts,' he said. Hawley has also faced criticism from Democrats for his move to support the massive spending bill and introduce the new measure. 'Just so I'm clear… he's introducing a bill….to repeal the bill… he voted for….two weeks ago?' Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) wrote on X Tuesday.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Josh Hawley Introduces Bill To Cancel Medicaid Cuts He Just Voted For
WASHINGTON ― In a head-spinning move on Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation that would repeal cuts to Medicaid he helped make possible only two weeks ago. The bill would restore funding that states rely on to finance Medicaid, which Republicans put on the chopping block by passing President Donald Trump's so-called 'big, beautiful' tax and spending law. The measure passed on a party-line vote after months of debate and hand-wringing about taking health insurance away from vulnerable Americans ― including voters who supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election. 'President Trump has always said we have to protect Medicaid for working people. Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect,' Hawley said in a statement released by his office. Hawley's bill also includes an additional $50 billion in support for rural hospitals ― up from the $50 billion already included in Trump's massive tax package. Rural hospitals are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts to Medicaid, most of which are scheduled to begin in 2028. Lawmakers often introduce standalone bills to address pet issues that don't make their way into big spending packages like the one Republicans approved earlier this month. It's rare to see a member of Congress trying to undo something they voted for, especially if they had the power to change it before it squeaked by in a 50-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie in its favor. Hawley defended the move, however, pointing to other aspects of the bill he supported, like the extensions of the 2017 Trump tax cuts and support for victims of nuclear radiation. 'You can't get everything you want in one piece of legislation. I like a lot of what we did. I don't like some of it,' the senator told reporters on Tuesday. Republicans delayed implementation of new 'work requirements' for Medicaid in the bill until 2027 and the changes to how the program is funded to 2028, which, at least in theory, will help them avoid a voter backlash in the 2026 midterm elections. However, Democrats argue that the negative consequences of the legislation are already being felt, citing the expected closures of rural hospitals across the country. 'At least 300 rural hospitals are at immediate risk of closing because of this bill,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday. 'Not two years from now. Now, this week. Two weeks after the bill passed.' 'Hospitals in Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina and Maine have already announced that they're closing or in serious danger of closing – not in 2027, not in 2028, but soon,' he added. Some conservative lawmakers in the House and Senate have also talked up an opportunity to pass another bill later this year under the same reconciliation process that requires only 51 votes in the upper chamber with even bigger cuts to Medicaid, including by limiting the expansion of Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. 'What they are doing, that is just the start,' Schumer said. 'Republicans have made it clear: They want even deeper cuts to Medicaid.'
Business Journals
a day ago
- Health
- Business Journals
Medicaid cut reversal bill submitted by Hawley, who voted for them just days ago
Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley from Missouri has submitted a bill that would reverse the Medicaid cuts made by President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." Hawley submitted the bill just under two weeks after voting for the health care cuts. Hawley's proposed "Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act" repeals the changes that Trump's bill, which was signed into law on July 4, made to both Medicaid state-directed payments and taxes states could impose on healthcare providers. It also doubles the federal Rural Health Transformation Program's funding to $10 billion starting in 2031. "Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect,' Hawley said in a press release. 'We should also increase our support for rural hospitals around the country. Under the recent reconciliation bill, Missouri will see an extra $1 billion for hospitals over the next four years. I want to see Medicaid reductions stopped and rural hospitals fully funded permanently.' GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events Hawley wrote up an opinion piece in the New York Times in May titled "Don't Cut Medicaid," in which he called cuts to the federal healthcare system "morally wrong." He then voted for the bill that made those cuts mandatory. He recently defended his flip-flop on the issue of Medicaid cuts, saying he voted for the bill because the legislation made it so that Missouri's rural hospitals are going to get $1 billion in funding over the next four years. But health policy expert Emily Gee, who used to work as an economist at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told KSDK, "That's plainly not true." She said each state will actually have to apply and meet strict criteria to qualify for those competitive nationwide funds. "There's no guarantee that that will be the slice of the pie that Missouri gets," Gee said. View KSDK's full report here.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
'I have great plans and ambitions': Noah Hawley's multi-season vision for 'Alien: Earth' has me counting down like it's Christmas
Ask literally anyone in my life what I talk about most, and I'd bet 100 facehuggers they'll say 'Alien.' Considering this is my favorite franchise and a full-blown obsession at this point, 'Alien: Earth' is naturally my most anticipated series of the year. The sci-fi horror show is fast approaching. We're now just under a month out and with the world premiere happening at San Diego Comic-Con next week, the marketing has kicked into high gear. That includes the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features 'Alien: Earth' on the cover and showrunner Noah Hawley sharing more about his vision for the series' future. He said (h/t GamesRadar Plus): 'With Legion, I had a three-act structure. I didn't know if that was going to take three seasons or five seasons, but I knew what the three major thoughts of the story were. And here, I feel like I have that as well." Hawley continued: 'We created it as a recurring series, and I have great plans and ambitions for it as such. On the film side, I've had some conversations with them. 'This is not a Kevin Feige Marvel Universe moment. I'm not saying that in success, that we shouldn't be coordinating or thinking big picture about that – the show has to be a hit before you can really have those conversations.' I didn't know my excitement could grow for 'Alien: Earth,' but here we are. The fact that Hawley has long-term plans already shows he has faith in the series, where it's headed, and how it can tie into the larger universe. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. In fact, when speaking with Vanity Fair about the possibility of it merging with the original source material, he stated, 'I do know that at a certain point, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation is going to divert the Nostromo to that planet [LV-426].' You know, the charming little rock where curiosity gets you violently killed. Honestly, I feel like a kid counting down to Christmas. Only instead of presents, I'm waiting for Xenomorphs, corporate cover-ups, and even more otherworldly threats. If I could climb into a hypersleep pod and wake up on release day, I would. 'Alien: Earth' is set to premiere on FX on Hulu in the U.S. on August 12, and Disney Plus in the U.K on August 13. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
