Senate Republicans propose deeper Medicaid cuts. Here's what that means. [View all]

(Washington Post) Senate Republicans are preparing to slice deeper into Medicaid to finance President Donald Trump’s agenda, proposing legislation that analysts say could deal a greater financial blow to hospitals and result in millions more uninsured Americans.

The measure reflects Republicans’ willingness to cut the nation’s safety-net health insurance program, despite qualms expressed by some moderates and populists within their ranks.

Last month, House Republicans passed massive tax-and-spending legislation projected to result in 7.8 million fewer Medicaid enrollees. The Senate Finance Committee’s revisions to the bill released Monday could prompt even steeper coverage losses, sharply reining in a Medicaid financing maneuver that hospital groups say would slash payments to their facilities.

“The Senate just made a bad bill worse,” Chip Kahn, CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, said in a statement. “Rural communities would take the hardest hit, with struggling hospitals compelled to face difficult decisions about what services to cut.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-republicans-propose-deeper-medicaid-021551180.html