Latest news with #FMAP
The Hill
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
GOP senators unveil amendment to shrink Medicaid by another $313B
Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) and several Republican allies have unveiled an amendment to President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' that would reduce Medicaid spending by another $313 billion by limting the expansion of Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare. The amendment would prevent new enrollees in Medicaid expansion states from receiving the 9-to-1 enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) if they are able-bodied and don't have dependent children. The existing population of Medicaid enrollees in expansion states would keep their 9-to-1 FMAP share, even if they temporarily left the program to join the workforce and then returned. The reduced FMAP for new enrollees would go into effect in 2031. A preliminary analysis by the Congressional Budget Office projects the amendment would save $313 billion over ten years, according to Scott's office. Scott and other conservatives, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), have made a concerted push Sunday to persuade Republican colleagues to vote for the amendment. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) pledged to Scott Saturday night that he would support the amendment in exchange for Scott's vote on a critical motion to proceed to the bill. 'I think it's going to pass. If you think about it, it's good policy. It gives the states the opportunity to get ready. Nobody gets kicked off,' Scott told The Hill. Asked if he would vote for final passage of the 940-page Senate bill if his amendment doesn't pass, Scott said, 'I'll figure it out then.' 'My goal is to support Trump. I like his agenda,' he said. The amendment is cosponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). Thune told reporters earlier Sunday that he expects the vast majority of his conference to vote for the amendment, but he wasn't sure whether it would pass. 'We think it's really good policy. Yeah, I think a lot of us is going to be supporting it,' he said. Asked if he had promised Scott it would be adopted to the bill, Thune said: I don't think you can ever promise. 'Obviously we're going to do what we can to support the policy,' he said. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ruled out changes to the FMAP formula in Medicaid expansion states when the House was putting together its reconciliation bill in early May. Johnson, the Wisconsin senator and cosponsor of the amendment, said the proposal would roll back a core piece of ObamaCare. 'People are being called and arms are being twisted,' he said. 'Nobody loses coverage. … It puts all the states on notice that this gravy train … is going to end.' 'We're trying to apply as much pressure as possible to get this amendment passed,' he added.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Senate parliamentarian scraps GOP's Medicaid reforms in ‘big beautiful bill'
WASHINGTON — Republicans faced another obstacle to passing President Trump's 'big beautiful bill' Thursday after the Senate parliamentarian ruled several health care spending reforms would need 60 votes to pass muster rather than the 51 sought by the GOP — likely preventing hundreds of billions of dollars in potential savings. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough determined some of the megabill's Medicaid provisions — including changes to federal funding for US states' share of health care provider taxes — were not eligible for approval via the simple majority gambit, known as reconciliation. Other axed provisions eliminated some Medicaid eligibility for non-citizen adults and children and lowered Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding percentages for states that let non-citizens obtain health care coverage from 90% to 80%. Still another section that failed to pass muster with MacDonough blocked federal funding for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to provide gender-transition medical care. 'The WOKE Senate Parliamentarian, who was appointed by Harry Reid and advised Al Gore, just STRUCK DOWN a provision BANNING illegals from stealing Medicaid from American citizens,' erupted Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). 'This is a perfect example of why Americans hate THE SWAMP.' 'Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than U.S. Congressmen who are elected BY THE PEOPLE,' he added. 'Her job is not to push a woke agenda. THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP.' 'How is it that an unelected swamp bureaucrat, who was appointed by Harry Reid over a decade ago, gets to decide what can and cannot go in President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill?' griped Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.). 'It is time for our elected leaders to take back control. [Vice President JD Vance] should overrule the Parliamentarian and let the will of the people, not some staffer hiding behind Senate procedure, determine the future of this country.' 3 Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough determined some of the megabill's Medicaid provisions can't pass by a simple majority because they violated the Byrd Rule. via REUTERS The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) determined that the House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the Senate has been revising, would add up to $3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. House Republicans had previously boasted that as much as $1.6 trillion in spending cuts were included in their version of the tax-and-spending package. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) described MacDonough's ruling as a 'speed bump' in the bill's progress. 3 Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has indicated in the past that overruling the parliamentarian would be tantamount to abolishing the 60-vote filibuster. AP Thune, 64, has indicated in the past that ignoring the parliamentarian would be tantamount to abolishing the 60-vote filibuster, a feature that sets the upper chamber apart from the lower and provides a check for the party out of power. Vance, though president of the Senate, can't overrule the parliamentarian's decision outright either, but would need a vote by the full chamber. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, celebrated the ruling in a statement, sharing other provisions that had been struck down by the upper chamber's referee. 3 Republicans are balking at the Senate parliamentarian's decision on Thursday to scrap several health care spending reforms tucked into President Trump's 'big beautiful bill.' AP 'Democrats are continuing to make the case against every provision in this Big, Beautiful Betrayal of a bill that violates Senate rules and hurts families and workers,' Merkley (D-Ore.) said. 'Democrats are fighting back against Republicans' plans to gut Medicaid, dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and kick kids, veterans, seniors, and folks with disabilities off of their health insurance – all to fund tax breaks for billionaires.' Reconciliation legislation is subject to parliamentary scrutiny under the so-called 'Byrd Rule' — named for former Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd — which requires bills to focus strictly on fiscal issues.
The Hill
20-06-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Trump's megabill hits more trouble as Senate conservatives demand changes
The Senate version of legislation to enact President Trump's agenda is hitting new turbulence as conservatives led by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are demanding deeper spending cuts to address the nation's $2.2 trillion annual deficit. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has focused this week on addressing the concerns of Senate GOP colleagues such as Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), who raised alarms about cuts to federal Medicaid spending. But Thune has to worry about his right flank as Johnson and his allies are threatening to hold up the bill unless GOP leaders agree to deeper cuts to federal Medicaid spending and a faster rollback of the renewable energy tax credits enacted under former President Biden. Johnson, Lee and Scott are threatening to vote as a bloc against the bill next week unless it undergoes significant changes. Thune plans to bring the bill to the floor Wednesday or Thursday next week, but he may not have enough votes to proceed on the legislation, say Republican senators. 'There's no way I vote for this thing next week,' Johnson told reporters. 'I don't want to go the Nancy Pelosi route, 'You got to pass this bill to know what's in it,'' he added, referring to the Democratic Speaker emerita who represents California. Johnson noted that senators are taking a closer look at a proposal offered by Scott to significantly reduce the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), or the federal government's share of Medicaid spending, in states that expanded the program under former President Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA). Lee is pushing for a fuller phaseout of the renewable energy subsidies enacted by Democrats in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 'Mike is handling the IRA provisions of this, Rick Scott is handling the Medicaid. You need to satisfy those two, too. All three of us have to be yes or none of us are yes,' Johnson said. Scott, who founded the Columbia Hospital Corp. and went on to run Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., one of the world's largest health care companies, wants to dramatically cut the 90 percent federal match for states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA. 'The focus should be on how do we take care of what Medicaid's original purpose was? It's children and the chronically ill,' he said. Scott argues that able-bodied low-income adults are drawing far too much of Medicaid spending in states that expanded the program, such as California and New York. 'Half the people, half the adults that are on Medicaid under the expanded FMAP are not working,' he said, adding that these people are not disabled. 'We're running $2 trillion deficits.' Scott says Medicaid shouldn't pay out more than Medicare and that states should not be eligible for expanded federal Medicaid payments for new enrollees after two years. He also wants to further crack down on states' use of health care provider taxes to increase their share of federal Medicaid spending. That sets up a fight next week with Senate Republican colleagues who have balked at the cuts to Medicaid spending unveiled Monday by Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). The current Senate bill would reduce the maximum permitted provider tax rate from 6 percent to 3.5 percent by 2031. The Florida senator said colleagues such as Hawley and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who are worried about limiting health care provider taxes, have a 'legitimate concern' about the fate of rural hospitals. But he argued that the high rate of Medicaid spending won't solve their problems. Collins has proposed a 'provider-relief fund' to the bill to help offset Medicaid cuts for rural hospitals, nursing homes and community health centers. Lee, the Utah Republican, meanwhile is calling for a more rapid and complete phaseout of renewable energy subsidies in the bill and for tougher language to keep tax benefits from going to immigrants who entered the country illegally. 'Green New Deal subsidies that don't terminate by 2028 will effectively become permanent. If you don't want them to be permanent, tell your senators!' Lee posted on social platform X. Language released Monday by the Senate Finance Committee would extend tax credits for hydropower, nuclear and geothermal energy into the 2030s. A faster and broader phaseout of clean energy subsidies would be opposed by Republican senators such as Murkowski, Jerry Moran (Kan.), John Curtis (Utah) and Thom Tillis (N.C.), who warn that a sudden termination of federal support would disrupt the renewable fuel industry, cost jobs and strand billions of dollars in investment. Yet Senate conservatives are ready for a showdown, arguing the deficit poses a major threat to the U.S. economy. 'The deficit will eat us alive if we don't get it under control. If not us, who? If not now, when?' Lee posted Thursday on X. Johnson said Trump promised to balance the budget but argued 'the bill before us does not do it' and will instead worsen deficits over the next decade. He said while the spending cuts in the legislation are 'the most spending reduction we've had ever,' the 'spending increase is unprecedented, 10 times more.' 'Look at the numbers,' he said. The Congressional Budget Office unveiled a new projection that the House-passed bill to enact Trump's agenda would add $3.4 trillion to the debt.
Axios
18-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
House passes reconciliation bill
The House passed its budget reconciliation bill early Thursday morning after Republicans made a last-minute slate of changes to win the votes of conservative hardliners. Why it matters: The 215-214 vote advances a GOP policy agenda that includes Medicaid work requirements, a phaseout of IRA energy tax credits and a reauthorization of the FCC's spectrum auction authority. It came after President Trump pressured the holdouts to move the bill forward, giving House Speaker Mike Johnson just enough room to push it through with his razor-thin GOP majority. What's inside: The revised bill would start Medicaid work requirements faster than originally planned — moving up the start date to the end of 2026 — but doesn't contain the cuts to federal share of costs for the Medicaid expansion, or FMAP, that conservatives were seeking. It also includes a major change to the Affordable Care Act marketplaces that would have the effect of reducing the federal subsidies that defray premium costs. On energy, the amended bill would move up the end of the investment and production tax credits to phase them out for projects that come onto the grid after 2028. What they're saying: "A yes vote gets America's economy moving again, allows President Trump to continue fighting for the hard-working families," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said before the vote.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State plans to decrease its payments to the needy
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Department of Social Services has announced its intention to cut by 10% the amount of welfare aid paid to several thousand households receiving public assistance. DSS will hold a public hearing on Friday, June 20, at 11:00 a.m. CT at state government's new One Stop Center at 1501 S. Highline Avenue in Sioux Falls. The number of South Dakota families receiving payments from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program varies month to month, according to DSS statistics. In April, the most recent month for which data was publicly reported, there were 2,487 families. That was down from a 12-month high of 2,567 in October. New Spring Creek owner shares golf course plans The department's proposed TANF cuts come at the same time that the Legislature gave state government employees a 1.25% pay raise that takes effect July 1. State aid to K-12 education and for health-care providers will rise 1.25% as well. DSS officials say the proposed cuts result from the Legislature reducing the department's general funding for the coming year by $5.3 million. Actually, then-Gov. Kristi Noem had recommended in her December budget proposal a $5,168,200 general-fund reduction for the economic assistance division in DSS that oversees TANF payments. The department, in turn, planned to use a similar additional amount of federal funds as an offset, according to page 20 of a presentation made on January 21 to the Legislature's Joint Committee on Appropriations. That presentation referred to the maneuver as 'Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Fund Swap.' The document made no mention of any proposed cut to TANF payments. The department's then-chief financial officer, Jason Simmons, didn't speak about it either. 'This year, in working with the governor's office and BFM (Bureau of Finance and Management), with revenues down and having to fund things like FMAP (federal medical assistance percentage) change and different things, our directive is to spend down some of that carryover. So this would be more of a temporary solution,' Simmons told the committee. He continued, 'This is not something that we're going to be able to do for many, many years, but it's something we can do in a pinch for a few years to get us through, to spend down that carryover and continue to deliver these services.' Five minutes later, DSS Secretary Matt Althoff expanded on those remarks. Responding to a question from Democratic Rep. Erik Muckey, Althoff said, 'We're going to examine our benefits and say, Is there a way we can reduce those as well? So we'll continue to look at that. We've got a preliminary plan that, as recommended, would take effect July first.' One of the panel's co-chairs, Republican Rep. Mike Derby, asked Simmons to go through the mechanics of the TANF fund swap one more time. Simmons explained that money left over from the federal block grant that the department receives each year can be placed in a carryover account. Simmons said the department gets $21.2 million of federal funds each year and state government puts in $8.5 million for a total TANF funding of $29.7 million. At the end of fiscal 2024, the department had $23.4 million of carryover funds available. Simmons said the plan was to tap the federal carryover to offset reductions in state general funds, spending the oldest layer of federal funds first. Noem's $34,665,498 recommendation of general funds for the new budget year that starts July 1 would have returned the division's general funding to roughly the $34,415,895 actually spent in 2024. State lawmakers in March ultimately appropriated $34,517,352 of general funds to the economic assistance division for the 2026 budget year. That was slightly more than the amount actually spent in 2024 and slightly less than the amount Noem had recommended. Asked Monday about the proposed TANF cuts, Republican Sen. Ernie Otten told KELOLAND News that he expects to see the department make reductions in other areas too. Otten and Derby co-chair the Legislature's Joint Committee on Appropriations that assembles state government's budget each year. DSS never came back to the committee with a detailed plan or a change from what they presented, according to information that Derby received from the Legislature's chief fiscal analyst Jeff Mehlhaff and forwarded on Tuesday to KELOLAND News. Mehlhaff told Derby, 'We have reached out to the Secretary of DSS multiple times with no response.' An average of 2,460 households per month received TANF payments during the 2024 budget year, according to the DSS fiscal note that was prepared for the proposed 10% cut. The average monthly amount was $518.06. Altogether, those payments totaled $15,293,131.20 in annual TANF costs, the department said, and a reduction of 10% from the current TANF payment standards equals $1,529,313.12. A statement signed by Secretary Althoff says the proposed financial cuts in TANF payments would have 'no impact' on small businesses. 'TANF is a needs-based program for families with children under age 18 (or under age 19 if the child is in high school) who need financial support because of the death of a parent; a parent is absent from the home; or the physical or mental incapacity or unemployment of a with serious financial needs may qualify for TANF monthly payments,' the statement says. Public comments at the June 20 hearing about the TANF reductions can be made in person at the Sioux Falls One Stop Center or by telephone at 1-605-679-7263 and using conference code 183 579 146 #. Written public comments can be sent through June 30 to Teresa Schulte, Administrative Rules C219, Department of Social Services, 1501 S. Highline Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57110 or can be emailed to DSSAdminRules@ Many lawmakers also were upset during the 2025 legislative session after learning about the Noem administration's decisions to enter long-term leases for new One Stop centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Most of state government's local offices including those of DSS in the two communities have since moved to the centers. Noem resigned as governor in January after she received U.S. Senate confirmation as the new federal Homeland Security secretary. After she left, the Legislature unanimously adopted a new law requiring lawmakers' approval of any lease longer than 15 years and costing more than $5 million in total or more than $50,000 per month. Leases for One Stop centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City are for 30 years and will cost an estimated $200 million more during that time than had state government continued with previous leases for locations scattered throughout the communities. The new law however doesn't apply to any past lease agreements. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
