Overview

• On June 17, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz met with Senate Republicans to advocate work and community-engagement requirements for Medicaid eligibility alongside tighter controls on program spending.
• The Senate Finance Committee’s draft bill would phase in a 3.5 percent cap on health care provider taxes by 2031, limiting a key funding tool for states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.
• Oz described the proposal as the most ambitious health reform ever, arguing it would rein in abuses and preserve benefits for low-income families, the elderly and the disabled.
• Nonpartisan estimates indicate the plan could cut more than $800 billion from Medicaid funding and raise the uninsured rate by about 10.9 million people, according to the CBO.
• Public health advocates caution the changes risk undermining rural hospitals and hurting families, noting that nearly half of Medicaid enrollees are children and most recipient households include at least one full-time worker.