Latest news with #HealthcareReform
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Obscures Medicaid Cuts in Bid to Pass Massive Tax Bill
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump publicly resisted Medicaid cuts — until his budget director, Russell Vought, convinced the president that reductions to heath coverage for low-income people, embedded in the Republican tax bill, were just weeding out fraud and abuse. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Global Struggle to Build Safer Cars At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending Trump has readily adopted that rhetoric, repeatedly declaring that his signature bill contains 'no cuts' to the social safety program, even as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates at least 7.6 million people would become uninsured if the bill takes effect. Republicans are betting they can win the semantic — and thus the political — battle over the future of Medicaid. At stake is a multi-trillion dollar tax bill, the cornerstone of Trump's economic agenda, which Republicans are relying on to counter the effects of tariffs that threaten to slow down economic growth. The Medicaid cuts of about $723 billion represent a major bill payer for GOP priorities, a significant negotiating point for fiscal hawks and a key way Republicans are paying for major tax cuts. But at least five senators have expressed reservations about the way the cuts could hit rural hospitals or working-class people. Trump can't lose more than three Republican senators and pass the measure. One former Trump official said the plan is to message Medicaid robustly this week, starting with the definition of 'cut.' 'Republicans just need to explain the policies they are pursuing. I don't think it will hurt them in the midterms,' said Brian Blase, president of the Paragon Health Institute who worked at the National Economic Council during the first Trump term. Yet Democrats view the cuts quite differently and see them as a welcome talking point in a year in which they've struggled to attack the president's agenda. Causing millions of Americans to lose health insurance while cutting taxes for businesses and wealthy people seems like an easy way to paint Republicans as out of touch. Rahm Emanuel, a former Democratic House lawmaker, former mayor of Chicago and former White House chief of staff who is considering running for president in 2028, said he'd contrast the boosts for billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook against children whose coverage could be at risk. 'Democrats should make this simple. Don't complicate it and don't go through the reimbursement rate,' Emanuel added. The Congressional Budget Office is slated to put out a more detailed analysis of the House bill on Wednesday. An analysis by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says, potentially, 15 million people could lose health coverage by 2034 under the House bill. People would lose Medicaid because that legislation tightens eligibility requirements for working adults and asks them to prove their eligibility more often. The bill does not extend premium tax credits, which helped people afford the cost of Obamacare, and it would raise the cost of doctor visits for Medicaid enrollees, among other changes. It would also ask states to pay for a greater share of its residents' Medicaid coverage and the administrative costs of the work requirements. Republicans are trying to win the Medicaid messaging wars by zeroing in on two changes, which their polling shows is palatable to a majority of Americans. This includes excluding immigrants legally in the US from Medicaid coverage (undocumented immigrants already cannot access Medicaid) and making sure that adults without disabilities work if they want to receive the federal health insurance program. In 2023, two-thirds of adults ages 19-64 on Medicaid already worked, while the remaining one-third of enrollees are in school, disabled or caring for a family member, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Much of the Republican polling on the issue from Paragon Health Institute, or from the Club for Growth, posits the Medicaid issue as one where Republicans are battling fraud or abuse within the system — and this has been the talking point that has resonated with Republican voters. 'President Trump pledged to protect and preserve Medicaid, and that's exactly what The One, Big, Beautiful Bill does by kicking illegal immigrants off of the program and implementing commonsense work requirements. Prioritizing welfare for illegal immigrants over American citizens is par for the course for Democrats, but it's not what the American people voted for,' White House Spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. One Trump adviser says Republican lawmakers remain nervous about the political pitfalls of Medicaid cuts, so the party should go on the offensive. Republicans have also played with the timing of when the work requirements would take effect in the states. In an earlier version of the House bill, they would not occur until 2029 — after Trump had left office. As it stands in the House bill, the Medicaid work requirements would start in December 2026 shortly after the midterm elections. Trump himself told House lawmakers not to touch the federal program when they visited the White House to discuss the overall tax bill. Part of his reluctance stemmed from polling that showed danger for Republicans in 2026 if they altered Medicaid, but the assurances of Vought and others' have helped the president support the House bill and its changes, according to Trump advisers. A senior administration official said Vought was one of several people pushing for the policies in the House bill because he knew it would help lawmakers pass it. It was approved by a narrow margin. Earlier: Trump Tax Bill Narrowly Passes House, Overcoming Infighting Trump is heavily involved in making sure Republican senators back the tax bill because he would like it to pass as early in the summer as possible, so he can show a major economic policy accomplishment for his first year back in office. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming said on Tuesday that Trump is 'very actively involved in the machinations in the Senate, while Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa said, 'the disabled, pregnant women, seniors in nursing homes and all those people, there isn't a one of them that is going to lose Medicaid.' Michael Karpman, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute, emphasized that much of budget savings Republicans tout is expected to directly result from people losing health insurance coverage, based on states' past experiences implementing work requirements. He called budget savings 'a euphemism' on a call with reporters in May. 'This is kicking people out of the program who really rely on it,' Karpman said. --With assistance from Erik Wasson, Kailey Leinz and Rachel Cohrs Zhang. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Is Elon Musk's Political Capital Spent? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Rep. Hinson on Tax Bill, Medicaid Cuts
Representative Ashley Hinson (R) Iowa weighs in on what she expects from the Senate as members look over the Tax bill. She also talks about how the Tax bill impacts medicaid, wanting longterm changes to the program, and her willingness to have conversations with Senators on the tax bill. Representative Hinson speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
CNN
7 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Joni Ernst's ‘Well, we all are going to die,' and the GOP's flippant defenses of Trump's agenda
One of the reasons politicians don't often engage in massive overhauls of the American economy is that it's very difficult to defend a massive overhaul of the American economy. However good any given plan is, it often produces losers and – even in the best of cases – some short-term pain. And repeatedly now as President Donald Trump has launched multiple massive overhauls, prominent Republicans have learned that the hard way. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is the most recent. Appearing at a town hall on Friday, Ernst was pressed on cuts to Medicaid – the health care program for low-income Americans – in House Republicans' budget plan. One audience member shouted that 'people will die.' The usual politician thing would have been to take issue with that premise – or to, as other Republicans have strained to do, cast the Medicaid cuts as merely cutting waste and abuse. (That's not the full story, of course; the Congressional Budget Office recently projected that House Republicans' changes to Medicaid, including work requirements for some recipients, would leave 7.6 million Americans uninsured by 2034.) But Ernst decided to go in a different direction. 'Well, we all are going to die,' said Ernst, who's facing reelection in 2026. When hostile portions of the crowd balked at the response, she said: 'For heaven's sakes, folks.' The senator and her office argued Friday that Republicans are in fact trying to 'strengthen' Medicaid. A spokesman said: 'There's only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and she's working to ease the burden of both by fighting to keep more of Iowans' hard-earned tax dollars in their own pockets and ensuring their benefits are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse.' Ernst in her remarks went on to accuse her critics of not wanting to 'listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable. Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, we will protect … them.' As a contrast, she cited an oft-invoked GOP claim that 1.4 million undocumented immigrants are receiving Medicaid benefits. But that's not actually what the CBO estimate says – nor does it account for the other millions of people the CBO says would lose insurance. In other words, however bad Ernst's answer was, it might just be that there's not a good answer to be given. Republicans needed to cut spending to pay for Trump's tax cuts, and it's hard to cut enough unless you cut entitlements. It's a political minefield that even some Trump allies like Steve Bannon have warned their party about. And indeed, Democrats quickly leapt to highlight Ernst as the epitome of an uncaring, Medicaid-busting Republican. But Ernst is not the first to wander into this kind of territory. Repeatedly in recent weeks, prominent Republicans who have been asked to account for the pains caused by Trump's bold plans have stumbled into similar territory. Trump himself has repeatedly talked about how the price increases created by his tariffs might mean people have to buy fewer dolls for little girls. 'You know, someone said, 'Oh, the shelves, they're going to be open,'' Trump said. 'Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.' Trump said on the campaign trail that foreign countries would pay the extra cost of the tariffs, not consumers. Conservative Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro called Trump's comments 'a tremendous commercial for Democrats' and urged Trump to avoid language that minimized the impacts of inflation. Back in March, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick addressed the administration's chaotic changes to the Social Security system by claiming that only 'fraudsters' would complain about missing a Social Security check. He pointed to his own mother-in-law. (The administration has pursued a series of sometimes halting changes to the Social Security system, including limiting claims to in-person rather than over the phone – something it later walked back – and cutting staff.) 'Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this month. My mother-in-law, who's 94 – she wouldn't call and complain,' Lutnick said. He added: 'She just wouldn't. She'd think something got messed up, and she'll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise – screaming, yelling and complaining.' It's logical to assume that Lutnick's mother-in-law wouldn't complain, given her son-in-law is a billionaire. But according to the Social Security Administration, more than 1 in 10 seniors rely on the program for at least 90% of their income. Are any of these game-changing gaffes? Not necessarily. But they are certainly fodder for Democrats to argue that Trump is pursuing a rather haphazard and callous overhaul of the American economy. It's the kind of thing Bannon warns about in cautioning Republicans against Medicaid cuts. There just aren't many good ways to defend millions of poor people being projected to lose their health insurance. And if the early evidence is any indication, it's going to result in plenty of awkward defenses in the future.
CNN
7 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Joni Ernst's ‘Well, we all are going to die,' and the GOP's flippant defenses of Trump's agenda
One of the reasons politicians don't often engage in massive overhauls of the American economy is that it's very difficult to defend a massive overhaul of the American economy. However good any given plan is, it often produces losers and – even in the best of cases – some short-term pain. And repeatedly now as President Donald Trump has launched multiple massive overhauls, prominent Republicans have learned that the hard way. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is the most recent. Appearing at a town hall on Friday, Ernst was pressed on cuts to Medicaid – the health care program for low-income Americans – in House Republicans' budget plan. One audience member shouted that 'people will die.' The usual politician thing would have been to take issue with that premise – or to, as other Republicans have strained to do, cast the Medicaid cuts as merely cutting waste and abuse. (That's not the full story, of course; the Congressional Budget Office recently projected that House Republicans' changes to Medicaid, including work requirements for some recipients, would leave 7.6 million Americans uninsured by 2034.) But Ernst decided to go in a different direction. 'Well, we all are going to die,' said Ernst, who's facing reelection in 2026. When hostile portions of the crowd balked at the response, she said: 'For heaven's sakes, folks.' The senator and her office argued Friday that Republicans are in fact trying to 'strengthen' Medicaid. A spokesman said: 'There's only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and she's working to ease the burden of both by fighting to keep more of Iowans' hard-earned tax dollars in their own pockets and ensuring their benefits are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse.' Ernst in her remarks went on to accuse her critics of not wanting to 'listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable. Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, we will protect … them.' As a contrast, she cited an oft-invoked GOP claim that 1.4 million undocumented immigrants are receiving Medicaid benefits. But that's not actually what the CBO estimate says – nor does it account for the other millions of people the CBO says would lose insurance. In other words, however bad Ernst's answer was, it might just be that there's not a good answer to be given. Republicans needed to cut spending to pay for Trump's tax cuts, and it's hard to cut enough unless you cut entitlements. It's a political minefield that even some Trump allies like Steve Bannon have warned their party about. And indeed, Democrats quickly leapt to highlight Ernst as the epitome of an uncaring, Medicaid-busting Republican. But Ernst is not the first to wander into this kind of territory. Repeatedly in recent weeks, prominent Republicans who have been asked to account for the pains caused by Trump's bold plans have stumbled into similar territory. Trump himself has repeatedly talked about how the price increases created by his tariffs might mean people have to buy fewer dolls for little girls. 'You know, someone said, 'Oh, the shelves, they're going to be open,'' Trump said. 'Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.' Trump said on the campaign trail that foreign countries would pay the extra cost of the tariffs, not consumers. Conservative Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro called Trump's comments 'a tremendous commercial for Democrats' and urged Trump to avoid language that minimized the impacts of inflation. Back in March, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick addressed the administration's chaotic changes to the Social Security system by claiming that only 'fraudsters' would complain about missing a Social Security check. He pointed to his own mother-in-law. (The administration has pursued a series of sometimes halting changes to the Social Security system, including limiting claims to in-person rather than over the phone – something it later walked back – and cutting staff.) 'Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this month. My mother-in-law, who's 94 – she wouldn't call and complain,' Lutnick said. He added: 'She just wouldn't. She'd think something got messed up, and she'll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise – screaming, yelling and complaining.' It's logical to assume that Lutnick's mother-in-law wouldn't complain, given her son-in-law is a billionaire. But according to the Social Security Administration, more than 1 in 10 seniors rely on the program for at least 90% of their income. Are any of these game-changing gaffes? Not necessarily. But they are certainly fodder for Democrats to argue that Trump is pursuing a rather haphazard and callous overhaul of the American economy. It's the kind of thing Bannon warns about in cautioning Republicans against Medicaid cuts. There just aren't many good ways to defend millions of poor people being projected to lose their health insurance. And if the early evidence is any indication, it's going to result in plenty of awkward defenses in the future.
The Independent
11-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Trump promises immediate sweeping cuts to drug prices in his ‘most important and impactful' Truth Social post
The president will sign an executive order next week he promises will reduce prescription drug prices by up to 80 percent 'almost immediately,' Donald Trump announced on Sunday on Truth Social. Earlier in the day, Trump heralded the announcement as 'one of the most important and impactful' of his career. The president said the order, to be signed Monday morning, will institute a 'most favored nation's' policy, where the U.S. will buy drugs at a price matching the lowest rate paid by a country for each medicine. 'Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens' Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before,' Trump said in his announcement, claiming, 'We are going to do the right thing, something that the Democrats have fought for many years.'
