The House recently passed a budget resolution, with Speaker Mike Johnson convincing several Republican lawmakers to support it. This includes members who were concerned about potential cuts to Medicaid.
The budget aims to kickstart the process for extending tax cuts that were introduced in 2017. It also plans for $2 trillion in spending cuts to help offset these tax reductions. In an ideal scenario, this budget could become law without major cuts to Medicaid, which provides health coverage to 72 million low-income and disabled Americans. However, achieving this outcome is likely to be complicated.
Next, the Senate needs to approve this budget resolution. Once that happens, both the House and Senate must draft and pass legislation based on the budget’s guidelines.
The current budget resolution does not clearly state whether Medicaid will face cuts. However, it does instruct the House Energy and Commerce Committee to reduce spending by $880 billion over the next decade. If this committee cannot find enough savings, the overall budget plan could be at risk, especially because Congress is using a special process to sidestep a Senate filibuster.
Finding cuts won’t be straightforward. This special procedure, known as budget reconciliation, means that Republicans must identify all $880 billion in savings from within the committee’s oversight. This restriction limits their options more than many might expect.
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Federal Budget (US),Medicaid,United States Politics and Government,Health Insurance and Managed Care,Law and Legislation,Trump, Donald J,Johnson, Mike (1972- )
