Latest news with #CongressionalBudgetOffice
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Health
- Yahoo
California will see 'devastating' healthcare cuts under GOP bill, Newsom says
As many as 3.4 million Californians could lose their state Medi-Cal health insurance under the budget bill making its way through the U.S. Senate, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday. Newsom said the proposed cuts to healthcare in the "one big, beautiful bill," a cornerstone of President Trump's second-term agenda, could force the closure of struggling rural hospitals, reduce government food assistance for those in need and drive up premiums for people who rely on Covered California, the state's Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace. "This is devastating," Newsom said. "I know that word is often overused in this line of work, but this is, in many ways, an understatement of how reckless and cruel and damaging this is." Medicaid provides health insurance for about 1 in 5 Americans and generally uses income, rather than employment, as a condition for enrollment. Roughly 15 million Californians, more than a third of the state, are on Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid, with some of the highest percentages in rural counties that supported Trump in the November election. More than half of California children receive healthcare coverage through Medi-Cal. The Senate is still debating its version of the bill. But the current version would require many Medicaid recipients to prove every six months that they work, volunteer or attend school at least 80 hours per month. States would be required to set up their work eligibility verification systems by the end of 2026, just after the midterm elections. States that do not set up those systems could lose federal Medicaid funding. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last month that the aim of the policy was to encourage poor Americans to contribute and "return the dignity of work to young men who need to be out working instead of playing video games all day." The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated this month that the requirements would cut about $344 billion in Medicaid spending over a decade and leave 4.8 million more people uninsured. Health policy experts warn that work requirements can lead to people who are eligible, but can't prove it, losing their benefits. Newsom said 5.1 million people in California would need to go through the work verification progress and about one-third would "likely" meet the requirements. The other two-thirds would "go through the labyrinth of manual verification," Newsom said. He said 3 million people in California could lose coverage through the new Medicaid work requirements, and 400,000 more could lose their insurance if they were required to re-verify their eligibility every six months. Newsom said that the state's estimate was based on the number of people who dropped off Medicaid in New Hampshire and Arkansas after those states briefly implemented their own work requirements. Last year, California became the first state in the nation to offer healthcare to low-income undocumented immigrants. The expansion, approved by Newsom and the Democratic-led Legislature, has cost the state billions and drawn sharp criticism from Republicans. Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), who has previously called on Newsom to walk back that coverage, said on social media Friday that Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders had "obliterated" the healthcare system. Newsom's budget proposal in May proposed substantial cuts to the healthcare program for undocumented immigrants, including freezing new enrollment in 2026, requiring adults to pay $100 monthly premiums and cutting full dental coverage. Lawmakers ultimately agreed to require undocumented immigrant adults ages 19 to 59 to pay $30 monthly premiums beginning July 2027. Their plan adopts Newsom's enrollment cap but gives people three months to reapply if their coverage lapses instead of immediately cutting off their eligibility. Democrats agreed to cut full dental coverage for adult immigrants who are undocumented, but delayed the change until July 1, 2026. In Congress, the GOP bill could also pose a serious threat to 16 struggling hospitals in 14 rural counties, which received a $300-million lifeline in interest-free loans in 2023, Newsom said. He said the Republican members of Congress in California who supported the bill and represent rural parts of California, including Central Valley Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), are "gutting an already vulnerable system." Some senators are pushing to change a requirement that would require states to freeze and cut by half the tax they impose on Medicaid providers, slashing a key source of funding for rural hospitals. Michelle Baass, the director of the California Department of Health Care Services, said that change could be "fatal for the many rural and critical-access hospitals that are already financially strained." Newsom said in aggregate, the cuts could threaten California's progress in reducing the share of residents without health insurance, which stands at about 6.4%. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
House Republicans proposed to diminish a federal grant for students. Campus leaders want the Senate to save it.
College presidents are rallying behind Senate Republicans in a bid to stave off megabill cuts to a program that helps more than 6 million low- and middle-income students pay for school. To help avert a $2.7 billion shortfall in the Pell Grant program later this year, the House's version of President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' advanced tighter eligibility rules that alarmed educators. The changes, according to the Congressional Budget Office, could kick nearly 10 percent of Pell recipients off the award and shrink the amount of money most participants receive. Those numbers are driving college leaders — many already facing threats of Trump-driven funding cuts, new endowment taxes and limits on international students — to support the Senate's less-restrictive take on the popular bipartisan program. Mark Brown, a former Trump Education Department official who is now president of Alabama's Tuskegee University, told senators last month that Pell reductions proposed by the House would push students to take out more loans. And some of the nation's largest university systems, like California State University and California Community Colleges, have called the restrictions an 'existential threat.' 'This is a difference between some of those students either coming to our universities or tech colleges or not,' said Jay Rothman, president of the Universities of Wisconsin, whose 13 campuses have roughly 31,600 Pell Grant recipients. Republicans in both chambers are under tremendous pressure from party bosses to find savings that help offset Trump's $4 trillion in broader tax cuts. But higher education leaders across the nation say the House GOP's plans would imperil college access for working students and contend that their institutions can't make up for the loss of federal financial aid. 'There are going to be some students who have the ability and have the passion and have the desire, but will not have the financial means to attend our universities. And there will be students that will not get the benefit of that higher education because of these reductions,' Rothman said. During the 2024-25 award year, the maximum Pell Grant was $7,395, which is determined based on income, family size, federal poverty guidelines and other factors. The House-passed 'big, beautiful bill' would require students to increase their course load from 24 credit hours a year to 30 each year to be eligible for the maximum amount of the grant. Most students would likely have to take 15 credits per semester instead of 12 to get the full award, though students could take summer courses to meet the full-time requirements. The bill also includes language that would bar students enrolled less than half-time from the grant. But the Senate has proposed scaling back the lower chamber's dramatic changes to the grant, and appears to be sticking with its Pell plans in the chamber's latest legislative text. The upper chamber's plan would deem students ineligible for the grant if they receive federal, state, institutional or private aid that covers the full cost of attendance, something campus leaders and advocates deem more favorable. Education Chair Bill Cassidy's proposal strips the full-time definition and half-time language from the panel's portion of the reconciliation bill, to the disgruntlement of some House leaders. 'I'm not OK with it,' said House Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg, whose panel is responsible for the lower chamber's Pell proposal. 'But we learned that we have to deal with reality. We know that we have to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill.' Walberg said he hasn't seen anything in the Senate's proposal that would be a deal breaker but worries about the long-term sustainability of the grant. Pell's estimated shortfall could balloon up to $10 billion by the end of fiscal 2026. Both the House and Senate proposals include funding to address the shortfall, but Walberg has said his proposed changes to eligibility would help rein in annual spending on Pell and help stave off another deficit. 'We thought it was very realistic,' the Michigan Republican said. 'The issue is, if we're going to pay for the shortfall that's going to be in Pell, we have to make sure that we have students that are finishing up, completing an education and moving on." But some institutions are discouraging students from taking heavy course loads, saying student performance goes down the more classes they take, especially if they have obligations outside of school. 'We actually advise them to take 12, not 15, so that they will do well. Fifteen credits is far too many,' Trinity Washington University President Patricia McGuire said. 'That is such a heavy, heavy academic load for students who are normally working. Also, many of them are raising their own children, many of them have family circumstances that are very stressful. Congress, in addition to not understanding how education works, have no concept of the lives of low-income students.' McGuire, who has headed the D.C. university for over 30 years, said 60 to 70 percent of her nearly 2,000 students are Pell recipients. 'If this goes through, we will go out, and we will make the case directly to donors: Can you help us to close this new gap that the government has created?' she said. 'But that also seems like we shouldn't have to do that.' Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a HELP Committee member, said he just wants the reconciliation bill's education proposals to be 'right in the end' when asked about the House Pell plans. 'Education is hugely important,' he said. Pell eligibility changes, if they become law, could be much more acute for community colleges, where students are often part-time. 'At community colleges, we're about careers, we're about jobs, we're about getting people into the workforce and if they can't afford to access the education, then we certainly can't get them into the workforce,' Forsyth Technical Community College President Janet Spriggs said.
Politico
an hour ago
- Business
- Politico
House Republicans proposed to diminish a federal grant for students. Campus leaders want the Senate to save it.
College presidents are rallying behind Senate Republicans in a bid to stave off megabill cuts to a program that helps more than 6 million low- and middle-income students pay for school. To help avert a $2.7 billion shortfall in the Pell Grant program later this year, the House's version of President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' advanced tighter eligibility rules that alarmed educators. The changes, according to the Congressional Budget Office, could kick nearly 10 percent of Pell recipients off the award and shrink the amount of money most participants receive. Those numbers are driving college leaders — many already facing threats of Trump-driven funding cuts, new endowment taxes and limits on international students — to support the Senate's less-restrictive take on the popular bipartisan program. Mark Brown, a former Trump Education Department official who is now president of Alabama's Tuskegee University, told senators last month that Pell reductions proposed by the House would push students to take out more loans. And some of the nation's largest university systems, like California State University and California Community Colleges, have called the restrictions an 'existential threat.' 'This is a difference between some of those students either coming to our universities or tech colleges or not,' said Jay Rothman, president of the Universities of Wisconsin, whose 13 campuses have roughly 31,600 Pell Grant recipients. Republicans in both chambers are under tremendous pressure from party bosses to find savings that help offset Trump's $4 trillion in broader tax cuts. But higher education leaders across the nation say the House GOP's plans would imperil college access for working students and contend that their institutions can't make up for the loss of federal financial aid. 'There are going to be some students who have the ability and have the passion and have the desire, but will not have the financial means to attend our universities. And there will be students that will not get the benefit of that higher education because of these reductions,' Rothman said. During the 2024-25 award year, the maximum Pell Grant was $7,395, which is determined based on income, family size, federal poverty guidelines and other factors. The House-passed 'big, beautiful bill' would require students to increase their course load from 24 credit hours a year to 30 each year to be eligible for the maximum amount of the grant. Most students would likely have to take 15 credits per semester instead of 12 to get the full award, though students could take summer courses to meet the full-time requirements. The bill also includes language that would bar students enrolled less than half-time from the grant. But the Senate has proposed scaling back the lower chamber's dramatic changes to the grant, and appears to be sticking with its Pell plans in the chamber's latest proposal. The upper chamber's plan would deem students ineligible for the grant if they receive federal, state, institutional or private aid that covers the full cost of attendance, something campus leaders and advocates deem more favorable. Education Chair Bill Cassidy's proposal strips the full-time definition and half-time language from the panel's portion of the reconciliation bill, to the disgruntlement of some House leaders. 'I'm not OK with it,' said House Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg, whose panel is responsible for the lower chamber's Pell proposal. 'But we learned that we have to deal with reality. We know that we have to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill.' Walberg said he hasn't seen anything in the Senate's proposal that would be a deal breaker but worries about the long-term sustainability of the grant. Pell's estimated shortfall could balloon up to $10 billion by the end of fiscal 2026. Both the House and Senate proposals include funding to address the shortfall, but Walberg has said his proposed changes to eligibility would help rein in annual spending on Pell and help stave off another deficit. 'We thought it was very realistic,' the Michigan Republican said. 'The issue is, if we're going to pay for the shortfall that's going to be in Pell, we have to make sure that we have students that are finishing up, completing an education and moving on.' But some institutions are discouraging students from taking heavy course loads, saying student performance goes down the more classes they take, especially if they have obligations outside of school. 'We actually advise them to take 12, not 15, so that they will do well. Fifteen credits is far too many,' Trinity Washington University President Patricia McGuire said. 'That is such a heavy, heavy academic load for students who are normally working. Also, many of them are raising their own children, many of them have family circumstances that are very stressful. Congress, in addition to not understanding how education works, have no concept of the lives of low-income students.' McGuire, who has headed the D.C. university for over 30 years, said 60 to 70 percent of her nearly 2,000 students are Pell recipients. 'If this goes through, we will go out, and we will make the case directly to donors: Can you help us to close this new gap that the government has created?' she said. 'But that also seems like we shouldn't have to do that.' Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a HELP Committee member, said he just wants the reconciliation bill's education proposals to be 'right in the end' when asked about the House Pell plans. 'Education is hugely important,' he said. Pell eligibility changes, if they become law, could be much more acute for community colleges, where students are often part-time. 'At community colleges, we're about careers, we're about jobs, we're about getting people into the workforce and if they can't afford to access the education, then we certainly can't get them into the workforce,' Forsyth Technical Community College President Janet Spriggs said.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Space ETFs for a Portfolio That's Out of this World
Coming up as a new frontier, the space economy is witnessing frequent groundbreaking advancements worldwide. The S&P Kensho Space Index has drastically outperformed the S&P 500 Index, reflecting strong investor confidence and growing market optimism toward the space industry. The space index has added 49.16% over the past year, significantly outpacing the broad market index, which has gained 12.11%. Increasing investor interest in the sector is majorly driven by rising demand for advanced defense systems and cybersecurity infrastructure. Additionally, rising interest for space travel and heightened investment in research and development by both governmental and private entities are the driving forces behind space tourism. As modern warfare evolves and with the rise of drones, it's increasingly likely that economies will expand their defense capabilities through the development of their own space-based arsenal. President Trump's proposed $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense concept highlights this fact. According to Reuters, Golden Dome aims to protect the expansive U.S. homeland from ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missile threats through an integrated network of satellites, sensors and interceptors, an ambitious initiative that could redefine the strategic norms of outer space. Per Reuters, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the total cost could reach as high as $542 billion. However, the United States is not the only one looking to increase investments in the militarization of space. Per CNBC, NATO's increased defense spending signals new opportunities for space and defense sectors, further bolstered by its recently announced commercial space strategy. This follows the military alliance's proposal to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, give space budgets a significant lift. According to Andrius Kubilius, EU space and defence commissioner, as quoted on Reuters, this century belongs to space, with a space revolution underway, the impact of which will be massive. As quoted on Reuters, the EU unveiled the long-awaited EU Space Act on Wednesday, signaling major regulatory changes for the EU's growing space sector, in a bid to increase competitiveness with the United States and China. As global investments increasingly prioritize climate control, the advancements within space technologies and the broader space economy also promise significant benefits. Already integral to disaster warning and management, space technology's role is expected to expand significantly with improved climate disaster monitoring, resilient communication network access and optimized tracking through satellite positioning data. With growing interest in interstellar exploration, expanding defense applications and growing capital infusion in the space sector, increasing exposure to funds covering the space economy can be beneficial. Investors can consider ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF ARKX, Spear Alpha ETF SPRX and Procure Space ETF UFO. The shift in warfare technology has resulted in the militarization of space, a trend already gaining momentum. Analysts believe this could not only increase investments in space economy but also unlock major opportunities for U.S. defense firms. Investing in Aerospace and Defense ETFs may offer a strategic advantage in such a case. Investors can consider iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF ITA, Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF PPA and Global X Defense Tech ETF SHLD. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD): ETF Research Reports iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA): ETF Research Reports Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA): ETF Research Reports Procure Space ETF (UFO): ETF Research Reports ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX): ETF Research Reports Spear Alpha ETF (SPRX): ETF Research Reports This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Los Angeles Times
11 hours ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
California will see ‘devastating' healthcare cuts under GOP bill, Newsom says
As many as 3.4 million Californians could lose their state Medi-Cal health insurance under the budget bill making its way through the U.S. Senate, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday. Newsom said the proposed cuts to healthcare in the 'one big, beautiful bill,' a cornerstone of President Trump's second-term agenda, could force the closure of struggling rural hospitals, reduce government food assistance for those in need and drive up premiums for people who rely on Covered California, the state's Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace. 'This is devastating,' Newsom said. 'I know that word is often overused in this line of work, but this is, in many ways, an understatement of how reckless and cruel and damaging this is.' Medicaid provides health insurance for about 1 in 5 Americans and generally uses income, rather than employment, as a condition for enrollment. Roughly 15 million Californians, more than a third of the state, are on Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid, with some of the highest percentages in rural counties that supported Trump in the November election. More than half of California children receive healthcare coverage through Medi-Cal. The Senate is still debating its version of the bill. But the current version would require many Medicaid recipients to prove every six months that they work, volunteer or attend school at least 80 hours per month. States would be required to set up their work eligibility verification systems by the end of 2026, just after the midterm elections. States that do not set up those systems could lose federal Medicaid funding. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last month that the aim of the policy was to encourage poor Americans to contribute and 'return the dignity of work to young men who need to be out working instead of playing video games all day.' The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated this month that the requirements would cut about $344 billion in Medicaid spending over a decade and leave 4.8 million more people uninsured. Health policy experts warn that work requirements can lead to people who are eligible, but can't prove it, losing their benefits. Newsom said 5.1 million people in California would need to go through the work verification progress and about one-third would 'likely' meet the requirements. The other two-thirds would 'go through the labyrinth of manual verification,' Newsom said. He said 3 million people in California could lose coverage through the new Medicaid work requirements, and 400,000 more could lose their insurance if they were required to re-verify their eligibility every six months. Newsom said that the state's estimate was based on the number of people who dropped off Medicaid in New Hampshire and Arkansas after those states briefly implemented their own work requirements. Last year, California became the first state in the nation to offer healthcare to low-income undocumented immigrants. The expansion, approved by Newsom and the Democratic-led Legislature, has cost the state billions and drawn sharp criticism from Republicans. Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), who has previously called on Newsom to walk back that coverage, said on social media Friday that Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders had 'obliterated' the healthcare system. Newsom's budget proposal in May proposed substantial cuts to the healthcare program for undocumented immigrants, including freezing new enrollment in 2026, requiring adults to pay $100 monthly premiums and cutting full dental coverage. Lawmakers ultimately agreed to require undocumented immigrant adults ages 19 to 59 to pay $30 monthly premiums beginning July 2027. Their plan adopts Newsom's enrollment cap but gives people three months to reapply if their coverage lapses instead of immediately cutting off their eligibility. Democrats agreed to cut full dental coverage for adult immigrants who are undocumented, but delayed the change until July 1, 2026. In Congress, the GOP bill could also pose a serious threat to 16 struggling hospitals in 14 rural counties, which received a $300-million lifeline in interest-free loans in 2023, Newsom said. He said the Republican members of Congress in California who supported the bill and represent rural parts of California, including Central Valley Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), are 'gutting an already vulnerable system.' Some senators are pushing to change a requirement that would require states to freeze and cut by half the tax they impose on Medicaid providers, slashing a key source of funding for rural hospitals. Michelle Baass, the director of the California Department of Health Care Services, said that change could be 'fatal for the many rural and critical-access hospitals that are already financially strained.' Newsom said in aggregate, the cuts could threaten California's progress in reducing the share of residents without health insurance, which stands at about 6.4%.
