Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has introduced legislation to roll back some of the Medicaid changes that he had voted for in the recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Five things to know:
1. Mr. Hawley’s bill would repeal the provider tax moratorium and the future reduction of provider tax authority in the reconciliation bill, according to a July 15 news release from his office. He said this would “restore a key aspect of Medicaid funding that states rely on to finance their programs.”
2. The legislation would also repeal provisions in the reconciliation bill related to state-directed payments that could reduce Medicaid reimbursements.
3. He is proposing to double the total investment in the Rural Health Transformation Fund to $100 billion and extend the life of the fund from five years to 10 years. The fund was included in the reconciliation bill at his request and aims to support rural healthcare systems.
4. After voting for the passage of the bill on July 1, Mr. Hawley said that he will “continue to do everything in my power to reverse future cuts to Medicaid. If Republicans want to be the party of the working class, we cannot cut health insurance for working people.”
5. “President Trump has always said we have to protect Medicaid for working people,” Mr. Hawley said in the July 15 news release. “Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect … I want to see Medicaid reductions stopped and rural hospitals fully funded permanently.”
Read the full bill here.
