Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate Megabill That Would Erode Social Safety Net Now Heads To House
CNBC: Medicaid Cuts In Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Leave Millions Uninsured, Threaten Rural Hospitals
President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” would make sweeping changes to U.S. health care, leaving millions of vulnerable Americans without health insurance and threatening the hospitals and centers that provide care to them. (Constantino, 7/1)
Fierce Healthcare: Senate Bill Cuts Medicaid Funding For Planned Parenthood
The Senate version of President Donald Trump’s "big beautiful bill," which narrowly passed Tuesday, includes a provision that would prohibit federal Medicaid funding for any healthcare services provided by clinics that also provide abortion services for one year. The Senate parliamentarian Monday ruled that the language banning federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year does not violate the chamber’s Byrd Rule, clearing the way for the provision to be included in the bill. (Landi, 7/1)
The Washington Post: GOP Tax Bill Includes A $6,000 ‘Senior Deduction.’ Here’s Who Qualifies.
The tax bill approved by Senate Republicans on Tuesday includes a proposed $6,000 deduction for seniors, the legislative version of President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign pledge to end taxes on Social Security payments. The new deduction is one of the flashiest provisions in the Trump tax legislation, and the White House has been eager to tout it as a major economic benefit for Americans 65 or older. But the provision would not benefit tens of millions of low-income seniors, and it would hasten the date by which the Social Security trust fund runs out of money, according to nonpartisan estimates. (Stein, 7/2)
Modern Healthcare: Tax Bill Passing Senate Draws Reactions From Healthcare Industry
The Senate brought the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 and its more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and other healthcare programs one critical step closer to President Donald Trump’s desk Tuesday. Healthcare organizations have sharply criticized the legislation since Trump and the Republican majority in Congress began working on the measure in January. Following the Senate action, trade associations slammed the bill, saying it would devastate providers and patients. (Hudson, 7/1)
More details about the bill —
The Washington Post: What Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Means For Your Health Care
If you’re among the 78 million people on Medicaid or the 24 million with a health plan from the insurance marketplaces, changes to how you qualify for and enroll in coverage — and what medical providers are available to you — could be on the way. Republicans are looking to squeeze savings from these two major programs that provide many lower-income and disabled Americans with health coverage, as they hustle to pass a huge, tax-cut-extending legislative package President Donald Trump has demanded before July 4. (Winfield Cunningham and Abutaleb, 7/1)
The New York Times: Poorest Americans Would Be Hurt By Trump’s Big Bill
Millions of low-income Americans could experience staggering financial losses under the domestic policy package that Republicans advanced through the Senate on Tuesday, which reserves its greatest benefits for the rich while threatening to strip health insurance, food stamps and other aid from the poor. For many of these families, the loss of critical federal support is likely to negate any improvements they might have seen as a result of slightly lower taxes, experts said. (Romm, 7/1)
The Wall Street Journal: What Medicaid Work Requirements Mean For Enrollees’ Coverage
President Trump’s tax-and-spending megabill seeks to implement a policy long championed by Republicans: work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries. Policy analysts expect millions of people to lose coverage either because they won’t bother to comply with the new rules or because they aren’t able to keep up with the paperwork and other bureaucratic hurdles states will erect for proving eligibility. (Walker and Mosbergen, 7/1)
KFF Health News: Republican Megabill Will Mean Higher Health Costs For Many Americans
President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” cuts federal spending on Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplaces by about $1 trillion over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, threatening the physical and financial health of tens of millions of Americans. The bill, which the Senate passed Tuesday, would reverse many of the health coverage gains of the Biden and Obama administrations, whose policies made it easier for millions of people to access health care and reduced the U.S. uninsured rate to record lows. (Galewitz, Appleby, Rayasam and Wolfson, 7/2)
In related news about the Affordable Care Act —
AP: Democrat Mayors Sue Over Trump Effort To Restrict Obamacare Enrollment
New Trump administration rules that give millions of people a shorter timeframe to sign up for the Affordable Care Act’s health care coverage are facing a legal challenge from Democratic mayors around the country. The rules, rolled out last month, reverse a Biden-era effort to expand access to the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance, commonly called “Obamacare” or the ACA. The previous Democratic administration expanded the enrollment window for the coverage, which led to record enrollment. (Seitz, 7/1)
KFF Health News: To Cut Medicaid, The GOP’s Following A Path Often Used To Expand Health Care
President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful” budget reconciliation bill would make some of the most sweeping changes in health policy in years, largely affecting Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans — with reverberations felt throughout the health care system. With only a few exceptions, the budget reconciliation process — which allows the political party in control to pass a bill with only 51 votes in the Senate, rather than the usual 60 — is how nearly every major piece of health legislation has passed Congress since the 1980s. (Rovner, 7/2)
