Speaking For Hours, Jeffries Slams ‘Big Ugly Bill’ That Will Decimate Medicaid
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the bill "immoral" and a "disgusting abomination." About 11 million people would lose Medicaid coverage, estimates show. The legislation also calls for cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Politico:
Jeffries Calls Out Republicans Over Medicaid Ahead Of Final Megabill Vote
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is blasting Republican colleagues over Medicaid as he issues extended remarks ahead of the final GOP megabill vote. Jeffries is utilizing his so-called magic minute to read off letters sent in by individuals in each state who rely on benefits that potentially hang in the balance as a result of the megabill’s provisions. (Razor, 7/3)
The New York Times:
Tax Cuts Now, Benefit Cuts Later: The Timeline In The Republican Megabill
Republicans deferred some of their most painful spending cuts until after the midterm elections. (Romm, Duehren, Sanger-Katz, Plumer and Wood, 7/2)
ABC News:
Former CDC Officials Warn Proposed Budget Cuts Could Cost American Lives In 2026
Proposed funding cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the fiscal year 2026 federal budget will lead to significant negative health impacts for millions of Americans, a coalition of former federal health officials said. These proposed funding cuts are not related to the "big, beautiful bill" that is making its way through Congress. (Benadjaoud and Davis, 7/3)
More on the megabill —
AP:
Empty North Carolina Hospital Explains Thom Tillis' Break With GOP
Though patients don’t rush through the doors of this emergency room anymore, an empty hospital in Williamston, North Carolina, offers an evocative illustration of why Republican Sen. Thom Tillis would buck his party leaders to vote down President Donald Trump’s signature domestic policy package. Martin General is one of a dozen hospitals that have closed in North Carolina over the last two decades. This is a problem that hospital systems and health experts warn may only worsen if the legislation passes with its $1 trillion cuts to the Medicaid program and new restrictions on enrollment in the coverage. (Seitz, 7/2)
Stat:
Why This Activist Is Putting Her Body On The Line For Americans With Disabilities
Flanked by her friends as lawmakers debated the future of a 60-year-old health care plan, Latoya Maddox raised her voice, shouting, “No cuts to Medicaid! No cuts to Medicaid!” The chanting, during a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on May 13, quickly earned her and her fellow disabled activists in the room a rough escort out by Capitol Police. (Broderick, 7/2)
KFF Health News:
To Keep Medicaid, Mom Caring For Disabled Adult Son Faces Prospect Of Proving She Works
Four years before Kimberly Gallagher enrolled in Medicaid herself, the public health insurance program’s rules prompted her to make an excruciating choice — to give up guardianship of her son so she could work as his caregiver. Now, another proposed twist in the rules could mean that, even though Missouri pays her to do that work, she might still have to prove to the state that she’s not unemployed. (Sable-Smith, 7/3)
KFF Health News:
GOP Governors Mum As Congress Prepares To Slash Medicaid Spending For Their States
The last time a Republican-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump moved to slash Medicaid spending, in 2017, a key political force stood in their way: GOP governors. Now, as Congress steamrolls toward passing historic Medicaid cuts of about $1 trillion over 10 years through Trump’s tax and spending legislation, red-state governors are saying little publicly about what it does to health care — even as they face reductions that will punch multibillion-dollar holes in their states’ budgets. (Galewitz, 7/3)
Also —
Roll Call:
Rep. Carter, Seeking Georgia Senate Seat, Surrenders Health Gavel
Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter will step down as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, he announced Wednesday. Carter, a Georgia Republican who is challenging presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Jon Ossoff for Senate in 2026, made the announcement via a press release Wednesday as House Republicans prepared to take up the Senate-passed budget reconciliation bill. (Wehrman, 7/2)
The New York Times:
How Health Care Remade The U.S. Economy
For years, the United States labor market has been undergoing a structural transformation. As jobs in manufacturing have receded, slowly but steadily, the health care industry has more than replaced them. The change has been particularly visible over the past year, during which health care has been responsible for about a third of all employment growth, while other categories, like retail and manufacturing, have stayed essentially flat. (DePillis and Zhang, 7/3)
