Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Budget Plan That Lays Groundwork For Tax Reform Includes Deep Safety-Net Cuts
The Associated Press: Budget Plan Faces Uncertain Fate After Clearing House Panel
The Budget Committee plan faces opposition from both hard-core conservatives and more moderate Republicans even as it advanced through the GOP-controlled panel on a party-line 22-14 vote. It remains short of the votes required to pass through the House and advance to the Senate, where further complications await. The plan proposes deep cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps and reprises a controversial Medicare plan strongly opposed by President Donald Trump — though Republicans are expected to only try to deliver on a small fraction of the cuts. (Taylor, 7/20)
Modern Healthcare: AHCA Savings, $487 Billion In Medicare Cuts Remain In House Budget Proposal
The House Budget Committee on Wednesday agreed to bake in hundreds of billions in Medicaid cuts from its ACA repeal bill to the budget resolution, plus an additional $114 billion in cuts over 10 years. The committee's Republicans' unanimously approved the decision with no Democrats on board. The budget resolution, which is the foundation for passing tax reform in the Senate without Democratic votes, also assumes Medicare will reduce spending by $487 million from 2018 to 2027. (Lee, 7/19)
In other spending news —
CQ Roll Call: Contentious Labor-HHS-Education Bill Advances In House
The House Appropriations Committee approved on Wednesday a $156 billion Labor-HHS-Education spending bill for fiscal 2018 that would boost spending for the National Institutes of Health while eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood and other family planning services. Committee members voted 28-22 to send the bill to the House floor after an 11-hour markup that saw 40 amendments proposed but few agreed upon. Two Republican members were not in the room to vote. The bill is $5 billion below current enacted levels (PL 115-31) and about $21.6 billion more than the White House proposed. (Wilkins and Siddons, 7/19)
