It does NOT operate that way despite the daily media headlines….
The Senate HAS to agree with the final wording….
THAT is Seriously in doubt …..
The money/revenue numbers for the Bill just do NOT make any sense for the Left and the RIGHT leaners…….
There ARE Midterm Election race’s coming on the distant horizon for House and Senator’s folks….
An ambitious House bill to cut taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars and pay for part of it by slashing Medicaid spending faces a rocky path in the Senate, where Republican lawmakers warn the changes to the safety net program could hurt rural hospitals and reduce benefits for their constituents.
Republican senators are also raising red flags about the House plan’s phaseout of renewable energy tax credits and what they’re calling an inadequate attempt to reduce the ballooning federal deficit.
Senate Republicans have given Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) space to put together a bill that can muster the 218 votes it needs to pass the House. But they’re warning that it’s going to get a facelift when it reaches the Senate, where Republicans who represent rural states say they will take a careful look at proposals that could throw millions of Americans off their health insurance.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he’s fine with the new work requirements and antifraud provisions that House Republicans have proposed for Medicaid, but he raised concerns about their “cost-sharing” proposal, which he said would make “beneficiaries pay more.”
“These are working people in particular who are going to have to pay more,” he said
He also questioned language in the House bill to limit states’ flexibility to use health care provider taxes to increase the federal share of Medicaid spending — a strategy many states use to draw more Medicaid dollars from Washington.
“The provider tax in particular, that could have a big impact in my state and lead to reduced coverage, so I’ve got some concerns. I think we need to look really, really carefully at that. I continue to maintain my position we should not be cutting Medicaid benefits,” he said.
A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the legislative proposal drafted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, found it could result in 8.6 million people losing their health care coverage.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who faces a competitive reelection race next year in a swing state, said the House proposal will need to be revised once it gets to the Senate.
He said he’s looking carefully at House language to cut Medicaid spending and phase out clean-energy tax breaks that have created new jobs in his home state.
“We’re going through some of the details today,” he said….
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