House Republicans Nix Hundreds Of Billions In Potential Medicaid Cuts

Roll Call: House GOP Drops Some Medicaid Cuts From Reconciliation Plan
Republicans will have to come up with alternative savings to make up for hundreds of billions of dollars in potential Medicaid cuts that GOP leaders appeared to rule out after meeting with moderates in Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Tuesday evening. Johnson, R-La., said leadership had ruled out two Medicaid policies that could go a long way toward meeting the Energy and Commerce Committee’s $880 billion, 10-year savings target but faced strong pushback from blue-state GOP centrists. (Hellmann, Raman and Bridges, 5/6)

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Cuts In Budget Bill Could Be Delayed To July
House Republicans may miss their self-imposed deadline to advance legislation that extends tax cuts from President Donald Trump's first term and takes up to $880 billion out of Medicaid, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-La.) said at the American Hospital Association annual membership meeting in Washington on Tuesday. Carter, who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, said lawmakers are not on track to finish the sweeping bill before Memorial Day as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) intended. The House is scheduled to recess from May 26-June 2. (McAuliff, 5/6)

The New York Times: G.O.P. Targets A Medicaid Loophole Used By 49 States To Grab Federal Money 
States have long used taxes on hospitals and nursing homes to increase federal matching funds. If Republicans end the tactic, red states could feel the most pain. (Sanger-Katz and Kliff, 5/6)

Modern Healthcare: AHA Urges Hospitals To Reject Medicaid Cuts At Annual Meeting
With massive Medicaid cuts on the table in Congress, now is the time for health system executives to press their case that lawmakers shouldn't squeeze the program, American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack urged at the trade group's annual membership meeting. “If there's one single message that your legislators need to get right now, it comes down to: no harmful cuts to the Medicaid program,” Pollack said Monday. (Early, 5/6)

KFF Health News: As Republicans Eye Sweeping Medicaid Cuts, Missouri Offers A Preview
The prospect of sweeping federal cuts to Medicaid is alarming to some Missourians who remember the last time the public medical insurance program for those with low incomes or disabilities was pressed for cash in the state. In 2005, Missouri adopted some of the strictest eligibility standards in the nation, reduced benefits, and increased patients’ copayments for the joint federal-state program due to state budget shortfalls totaling about $2.4 billion over several prior years. (Sable-Smith, 5/7)

Becker's Hospital Review: Medicaid Cuts Could Cost 10 States, DC Nearly $500B
Ten states and Washington, D.C., could face a $468 billion shortfall over the next decade if Congress reduces the amount it guarantees states to run their Medicaid programs, according to a May 6 report from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The federal government has paid for at least half of every state’s Medicaid costs through the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, which starts at a floor of 50%, according to the report. If that floor were reduced, 10 states and the district would be affected. (Cass, 5/6)

More news from CMS —

Newsweek: U.S. Mortality Rate Compared To Europe As Dr. Oz Blames Health Care
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Tuesday that U.S. health care has dropped in quality but increased in expense compared to other developed countries, notably in Europe. Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon and former talk show host, was confirmed in April by the U.S. Senate to oversee health care access for nearly half the U.S. population—helming a $1.4 trillion budget that exceeds the Department of Defense and administers Medicare for seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors, as well as Medicaid, which serves low-income Americans. (Mordowanec, 5/6)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

Military.com: VA Secretary Defends Staffing Cuts, Contract Cancellations In Heated Senate Hearing
Secretary Doug Collins defended his efforts to restructure the Department of Veterans Affairs, describing a broken bureaucracy badly in need of reform, in his first appearance before Congress since his confirmation hearing in January. Members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee largely agreed that the VA needs improvement, but Democrats expressed fury over how Collins is handling the reforms, saying he has not given them the necessary details on issues such as staffing cuts, contract cancellations, workplace accommodations and more. (Kime, 5/6)

Axios: Senators Say HHS Cuts Imperil Indian Health Services
A bipartisan group of senators warned Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday that cuts to the federal health care workforce are threatening Native Americans and other beneficiaries of Indian Health Services care. (Goldman, 5/7)

AP: Congress Sends Trump A Resolution Ending Biden-Era Emissions Cleanup Rule
Congress has voted to kill a Biden-era rule requiring rubber tire makers to clean up planet-warming emissions from their manufacturing processes in the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency finalized rules for the rubber tire industry, specifically previously unregulated rubber processing, last November through amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. Tires are made of chemicals, compounds and materials that release greenhouse gases, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds, experts say. (St. John, 5/6)

Modern Healthcare: Why Prior Authorization Bills Stall Despite Bipartisan Support
The term "prior authorization" has become reviled on Capitol Hill. Yet legislation to limit health insurance pre-certifications has been held up time and again, not unlike the treatments and medicines that providers and patients complain health plans delay or deny. Some lawmakers from both political parties believe this Congress will be different. One Republican thinks sharing his own personal story about health insurance red tape will spur his colleagues toward the finish line. (McAuliff, 5/6)