Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medical Debt Would Surge 15% Under Bill's Medicaid, ACA Cuts, Report Says
CNBC: 'Big Beautiful' Bill Health Care Cuts May Add To Medical Debts: Report
Proposed federal spending cuts to health care in Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” may increase some families’ medical debts by as much as $22,800, according to a new report from Third Way, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. (Konish, 6/23)
Modern Healthcare: GOP Senators Shrug At Hospitals' Medicaid, Uncompensated Care Woes
Hospitals have beseeched Republicans not to leave them bearing the financial burden of the more than $1 trillion in healthcare cuts they hope President Donald Trump signs into law by Independence Day. The message doesn’t seem to be breaking through, based on interviews last week with several GOP senators, some of whom seek even steeper spending reductions. (McAuliff, 6/23)
Modern Healthcare: AHA Ad Campaign Targets Medicaid Cuts In One Big Beautiful Bill
The American Hospital Association launched an ad campaign Monday urging Congress to protect hospital funding as lawmakers consider more than $1 trillion in healthcare cuts. The ad shows a montage of patients receiving care and emphasizes the important role hospitals play in their communities. It ends with the statement, “Tell Congress: Protect hospital care.” The new campaign launches as the Senate mulls over potential healthcare cuts as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which legislators hope President Donald Trump will sign into law by July 4. (Hudson, 6/23)
Politico: Senate GOP Scrambles To Rewrite Trump’s Megabill
Senate Republicans are scrambling to rewrite major parts of their “big, beautiful bill” in deference to key holdouts and the chamber’s parliamentarian as the clock ticks on a self-imposed deadline. GOP leaders are aiming to start voting Thursday, but senators emerged from a closed-door briefing on the status of the megabill Monday night saying that some of their biggest sticking points — ranging from key tax decisions to a deal on Medicaid — remain unresolved. (Carney and Kashinsky, 6/23)
Bloomberg: Senate Readies Tax Bill For Vote With Holdouts Threatening Delay
President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending agenda is nearing a climactic vote in the Senate this week in the wake of air strikes on Iran, which risk embroiling the US in a prolonged Middle East conflict. Trump’s $4.2 trillion tax-cut package, partially offset by social safety-net reductions, does not yet have the support it needs to pass the Senate. Fiscal hawks seeking to lower the bill’s total price tag are at odds with Republicans worried about cuts to Medicaid health coverage for their constituents and phase-outs to green energy incentives that support jobs in their states. (Wasson, 6/23)
Politico: Trump’s Team Makes The Case For Cuts
From Capitol Hill to CDC headquarters in Atlanta, this last week of June will yield important clues about the direction of health policy under President Donald Trump — and whether a GOP Congress will go along. On Wednesday, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), who’s spoken out against global health cuts, will question Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, who’s spearheaded them. (Zeller, 6/23)
WBEZ Chicago: Medicaid Helps Keep This Illinois Toddler Alive And At Home. Her Mom Worries Cuts Could Put It All At Risk.
Marely Chavarria Santos was born with a failing heart. The tip of her liver jutted out through a hole in her abdomen. A piece of her intestine was so narrow that nutrients couldn’t pass through. Her heart was so sick, it eventually ballooned to the size of a large lemon, pushing onto her lungs and other organs. When Marely was about 3 months old, doctors put her on a list to receive a heart transplant. After the surgery, Marely spent another six months in transitional care before finally coming home in January. She’s now nearly 2 years old. A big reason she is able to live at home is because of Medicaid. The public health insurance program for low-income and disabled people covers the cost for medically fragile children dependent on technology. Similar care in a hospital or another facility would be far more expensive. (Schorsch, 6/21)
Other health news from Capitol Hill —
Politico Pro: Pharma Stocks' Slide Hasn’t Deterred These Lawmakers
Drugmakers have taken a beating on Wall Street in recent months, perhaps because President Donald Trump has threatened the pharmaceutical industry with tariffs and demanded it reduce prices while his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has questioned the safety of its products. Amidst the turmoil, pharma stocks have taken a hit. But a POLITICO review of stock trading by lawmakers found that many, including Republicans, are buying — suggesting they don’t think the Trump administration’s attacks on the industry are going to do lasting damage. Members of Congress are allowed to trade stocks, so long as they disclose their purchases. (Chu, 6/23)
