Pallone. Photo: Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Get ready for a long night! The long-anticipated, potentially history-making House Energy and Commerce reconciliation markup kicks off today at 2pm ET.
Why it matters: This is the first major public airing of the Republican Medicaid cuts that were released Sunday night, and it gives Democrats a chance to go on the attack and possibly put swing-district GOP panel members in a tight spot.
- The policy changes could bring the biggest rewrite ever to the safety net program, if they aren't stripped or watered down by the full House or the Senate.
What they're saying: "We expect that this markup will go through the night to the second day," Ranking Member Frank Pallone told reporters on a Protect Our Care call Monday.
- "I'm prepared, and I know all the Democrats are, to stay as long as we have to to try to stop this. This is all about kicking people off their health insurance."
What we're watching: Three particularly vulnerable Republicans on the committee will be closely watched: Gabe Evans, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Tom Kean.
- Evans signaled support for the bill in a statement to Axios, though he did not explicitly say he would vote to advance the package.
For the record: "The critics will spread fear about cuts for political purposes, so let me [be] clear: This bill allows Medicaid spending to increase year over year for the next 10 years," Evans said.
- "This bill follows through on Republicans' promises to cut waste, fraud, and abuse while protecting coverage for Colorado's most vulnerable populations."
- Anthony Fakhoury, a spokesperson for Miller-Meeks, said, "Like President Trump, she supports eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse to make [Medicaid] stronger and more efficient, while preserving access for those it was meant to serve."
- Fakhoury declined to comment on how Miller-Meeks will vote.
- Kean's office did not respond to requests for comment.
Between the lines: Committee Democrats declined to preview any amendments they'll offer but are expected to bring up measures aimed at stripping controversial Medicaid policies and highlight how the changes may lead to millions more uninsured.
- Those amendments will probably address work requirements, plans to impose cost-sharing on enrollees and proposals to lower the federal share of Medicaid costs for states that provide coverage to undocumented immigrants with their own funds.
- Democrats will also probably target language that would ban large organizations that provide abortions from receiving Medicaid funding, as well as the provision to prohibit Medicaid from paying for gender-affirming care.
- Expect most if not all of these to fail along party lines, though we'll be watching to see if any gather bipartisan support.
The big picture: Advocacy groups including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and American Diabetes Association and providers including the American Hospital Association have been ramping up opposition to the measure.
