Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The House Budget Committee is marking up a GOP budget resolution, with the prospect of steep Medicaid cuts hanging over the deliberations.
Why it matters: Democrats are trying to put Republicans on the spot for pushing billions in cuts in the budget document, the bulk of which could come from overhauling the safety net program.
State of play: Lawmakers could offer 30 to 40 amendments, and some of the ones from Democrats will try to mitigate major changes and possible coverage losses.
- The resolution released Wednesday instructed the Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in savings, which is the largest payfor among all of the committees in the resolution.
- Having such a high number assures that Medicaid will be in the crosshairs.
- Democrats will be offering amendments to strike the E&C instruction, during which they'll focus on Medicaid. Another proposed change would restrict policies that impact the program, per a source familiar.
- Projected savings from policy changes vary, but Medicaid per capita caps could save up to $900 billion over a decade, and imposing work requirements could save up to $100 billion.
What they're saying: Many of the members' opening statements focused on Medicaid, with Democrats predicting the steep $880 billion target means recipients lose coverage. Republicans pushed back, insisting that the changes wouldn't cut benefits but would focus on fraud and waste.
- "There is no way to make cuts this deep without slashing Medicaid," said Rep. Judy Chu. "Using our constituents' health care to pay for billionaires' tax cuts. With fewer Medicaid dollars, states will be forced to make drastic, life-altering cuts."
- "We will not be kicking people off of Medicaid," said Rep. Buddy Carter, chair of the Energy and Commerce health subcommittee. "What we are going to try to do … is making sure that we stabilize, making sure that we secure, making sure that we strengthen Medicaid, by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse that is going to a lot of providers."
The bottom line: The markup should last for hours. Though Democratic amendments will likely all be rejected, the debate previews how politically dicey big cuts to the entitlement program could get.
