Amid Political Rhetoric, CBO Clarifies The Extent Medicaid Would Be Slashed By Republican Plan
At the request of Democrats, the Congressional Budget Office releases a more detailed and long-ranging report on the effects that the Republican plan would have on the federal-state program for low-income people.
The New York Times:
Projected Drop In Medicaid Spending Heightens Hurdle For G.O.P. Health Bill
Projected Medicaid spending under a Senate Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act would be 35 percent lower after two decades, the Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday in a new report, which detailed how Medicaid changes would cut more deeply as they go fully into force. The budget office analysis created a fresh challenge for Republican leaders as they tried to muster support for their bill, even as senators scattered to their home states for a 10-day July 4 recess. (Pear and Kaplan, 6/29)
Reuters:
Senate Republican Bill Would Slash Medicaid By 2036, Complicating Talks
The Congressional Budget Office report, requested by Senate Democrats, provides a longer-term look at how the Republican plan would affect Medicaid spending as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell searches for a formula to win over the conservative and moderate elements of his Republican caucus. ( Cornwell and Abutaleb, 6/29)
CQ Roll Call:
CBO: Impact Of Senate Bill's Medicaid Cuts Would Grow Over Time
The analysis, which considers the effects of spending over 20 years under the Senate GOP discussion draft that was first released last week, says that federal spending would be reduced by $160 billion in 2026 compared to under current law. The proposal is meant to roll back the 2010 health care law and change the Medicaid program, and is somewhat similar to a bill (HR 1628) passed by the House in May. (McIntire, 6/29)
The Washington Post:
Senate Democrats Shine Light On Health Bill’s Longer-Term Effect On Medicaid
The Better Care Reconciliation Act relies on the time-honored political strategy of pressing a bill’s most profound effects years into the future — in this case, in severely constricting the main source of public health insurance for poor and vulnerable Americans. Until Thursday, that scenario had been cloaked in arcane legislative language about per-capita caps and varying inflation adjustments. What Congress’s nonpartisan budget scorekeepers did, at the prodding of the Senate Finance Committee’s senior Democrat, is make clear that the GOP legislation would squeeze federal Medicaid spending by 35 percent by the end of two decades, compared with current law. (Goldstein, 6/29)
Bloomberg:
GOP Bill Would Slash Medicaid Over Next Two Decades, CBO Finds
“A large gap would grow between Medicaid spending under current law and under this bill,” CBO said in the new analysis. “States would continue to need to arrive at more efficient methods for delivering services and to decide whether to commit more of their own resources, cut payments to health-care providers and health plans, eliminate optional services, restrict eligibility for enrollment, or adopt some combination of those approaches.” (Edney and Tracer, 6/29)
Politico:
CBO: Medicaid Spending Falls 35 Percent In 20 Years Under Senate Health Bill
The drop-off stems from stricter limits Republicans want to enact beginning in 2025 to control the entitlement's growth. Under the Senate bill, federal Medicaid outlays would be 26 percent less in 2026 compared to current law. The gap widens to 35 percent in 2036. (Pradhan, 6/29)
The Washington Post Fact Checker:
President Trump’s Claim Medicaid Spending In Senate Health Bill ‘Actually Goes Up'
The White House is defending changes to Medicaid financing in the Senate health-care overhaul bill by saying that the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) actually increases Medicaid spending. In the tweet, Trump included a graph that showed the spending increases from 2017 to 2026. ... But that’s quite misleading. (Lee, 6/30)
Modern Healthcare:
Federal Medicaid Spending To Fall 35% In Two Decades Under Senate Healthcare Bill
The CBO report may make it more difficult for GOP leadership to line up moderate votes to pass the bill, and they may have to scrap the bill's proposed change to a lower inflation rate in 2025 to ensure passage. (Lee, 6/29)
The Hill:
CBO: GOP Healthcare Bill Would Cut Medicaid By 35 Percent Over Next 20 Years
Senate Democrats immediately used the findings to blast the Republican legislation. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the bill is “even worse than we thought.” (Weixel, 6/29)
The Washington Post:
Why The Senate Health Care Bill Is Even Harsher Than It Looks, In One Chart
The Congressional Budget Office laid out a stark picture of what would happen over the next decade if the Senate health-care bill were implemented as written: 22 million fewer Americans would have insurance than under current law in 2026, driven largely by cuts to federal spending on Medicaid. But by focusing only on the next decade, the report fails to capture how rapidly Medicaid funding would continue to erode, according to a new analysis by the consulting firm, Avalere Health. (Johnson, 6/29)
Meanwhile, experts react to the Medicaid provisions in the GOP's bill —
Modern Healthcare:
Would Senate Bill's Extra Payments To Non-Expansion States Offset Overall Medicaid Cuts? Hospital Groups Say No Way
The Senate Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act offers billions in additional funding to states that didn't expand Medicaid or that spend less on Medicaid, for the intended benefit of providers in those states. Hospital leaders in those states say they would welcome the additional dollars. But they, along with Medicaid policy experts, say the Senate provisions would not come close to offsetting the large cuts providers and patients would suffer under the bill's other provisions. (Meyer, 6/29)
