As federal lawmakers continue to debate major reforms to Medicaid spending, entrepreneur Mark Cuban is proposing what he believes is “the best way to reduce the cost of Medicaid.”
In a June 26 post on X, the billionaire and co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs called for the naming and shaming of large employers whose full-time employees qualify for Medicaid benefits.
“When a large employer pays so little that their full-time employees qualify for Medicaid (or any public assistance), we the taxpayers are effectively subsidizing that big company. That’s wrong,” he wrote. “It comes down to the morals and patriotism of the CEO and board.”
Meanwhile, the Republican-led Senate kicked off a vote-a-rama on June 30 after it voted two days prior to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes significant proposed reforms to Medicare, Medicaid and healthcare-related tax provisions.
The Senate Finance Committee released its draft of the budget reconciliation bill on June 16 after the House passed the bill in May. The Senate version of the budget bill proposes deeper and broader cuts to Medicaid than its House counterpart, aiming to rein in Medicaid spending through tighter eligibility rules, a reduction in provider tax limits and an expansion of work requirements for enrollees.
The legislation has faced strong opposition from hospital groups, such as the Federation of American Hospitals. The group’s president and CEO Chip Kahn said, “[R]ural communities across the country will be the hardest hit, with struggling hospitals compelled to face difficult decisions about what services to cut.”
American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack said the Senate bill was “substantially worse than its House counterpart” in a June 28 statement shared with Becker’s.
In a June 29 letter to senators, Mr. Pollack stressed that the bill would result in millions of Americans being displaced from insured to uninsured status due to its Medicaid policy changes, along with those that impact the health insurance marketplace. He welcomed the opportunity for lawmakers to work with the AHA to rework the legislation.
“This loss of coverage will result in additional uncompensated care for hospitals and health systems, which will affect their ability to serve all patients,” Mr. Pollack said. “There will be service line reductions and staff reductions, resulting in longer waiting times in emergency departments and for other essential services, and could ultimately lead to facility closures, especially in rural and underserved areas.”
The One Big Beautiful Bill has spurred other debate around how to reduce federal healthcare spending. In May, Democratic lawmakers urged Republicans to turn their attention toward Medicare Advantage overpayments to cut spending.
