Latest news with #ProtectMedicaidandRuralHospitalsAct
Axios
a day ago
- Politics
- Axios
Exclusive: Sen. Hawley doesn't want to "experiment" with rural hospital funding
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) doesn't want to "experiment" with the "vitally important" funding hospitals receive, he said during an Axios News Shapers event Wednesday. 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.
USA Today
16-07-2025
- 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
Business Journals
16-07-2025
- 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.
Axios
15-07-2025
- Health
- Axios
Hawley introduces bill to reverse Medicaid cuts he voted for
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation Tuesday to halt any future cuts to Medicaid hospital funding, two weeks after voting for the slashes as part of President Trump's " big, beautiful bill." The big picture: Hawley has emerged as a key player pushing back on a major Medicaid overhaul, which would include nearly $1 trillion in rollbacks over the next 10 years. Driving the news: The "Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act" introduced Tuesday, if passed, would repeal a provider tax moratorium and the future reduction of provider tax authority in the reconciliation bill. "This would restore a key aspect of Medicaid funding that states rely on to finance their programs," Hawley's office said in a press release. It also aims to repeal provisions in the reconciliation bill related to state directed payments that could reduce Medicaid reimbursements. What he's saying: "President Trump has always said we have to protect Medicaid for working people," Hawley said in a statement. "Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect."
