Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Many Would Go Uninsured Under House Debt Limit Plan?
Axios: CBO: 600,000 More Uninsured From House GOP Bill
About 600,000 people would become uninsured under the House Republican debt bill's plan to impose Medicaid work requirements, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday. The estimate from Congress' nonpartisan scorekeeper gives a sense of the coverage loss from the proposal, while also highlighting the federal savings. (Sullivan, 4/26)
Vox: GOP’s Debt-Limit Bill Could Lead To 21 Million People Losing Medicaid, Biden White House Says
As many as 21 million Americans could be at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage under the House GOP’s work requirement proposal, according to a new Biden administration analysis shared exclusively with Vox. The projections are both a warning about the potential consequences of the strict reporting requirements Republicans are contemplating and ammunition for Democrats in the upcoming negotiations over raising the federal debt limit. (Scott, 4/25)
More on the debt-limit talks —
Roll Call: Scope Of COVID-19 Funding Cuts Emerges As Debt Limit Flashpoint
Democrats are jumping on the House GOP plan to recoup unspent pandemic aid in their debt limit bill, charging that the move will harm agencies counting on that funding, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill, which Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is hoping to get on the floor this week, would rescind $72 billion in unobligated pandemic relief aid. (Quigley, 4/25)
Politico: McCarthy Struggles To Lock Down Votes For Debt Plan
Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his team are vowing to move ahead with their sprawling debt measure as soon as Wednesday, but the path to locking down votes turned murky after a day of internal deliberations. The Californian Republican spent the day holding back-to-back meetings with leadership allies and key holdouts to shore up support before a tentative vote Wednesday. By Tuesday evening, though, the GOP’s whip count remained short of the votes needed for passage, with a cohort of Midwestern Republicans demanding changes to a major tax rollback in the bill. A smaller group of conservatives is also raising concerns of their own over work requirements for certain assistance programs. (Ferris, Carney, Hill and Beavers, 4/25)
