GOP senator introduces bill to repeal Medicaid cuts in Trump tax law he voted to pass
WASHINGTON - Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill on July 15 that would repeal some of the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and domestic policy law, after Hawley voted to pass it earlier this month.
Trump’s law changes how states fund their portion of Medicaid. States have adopted "provider taxes" that assess taxes on hospitals and other health providers to leverage larger Medicaid payments from the federal government. The law would require states to reduce provider taxes to 3.5%, down from the current limit of 6% over the next few years.
It also allocates $50 billion over five years for the rural health transformation program, aimed at supporting underfunded rural hospitals and strengthening access to care for rural residents.
Hawley’s bill, dubbed the “Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act,” would repeal the reduction of provider tax authority. It would also double the rural health transformation fund to $100 billion, and extend the fund from five years to ten years.
“President Trump has always said we have to protect Medicaid for working people. Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect,” Hawley said in a statement. “We should also increase our support for rural hospitals around the country. Under the recent reconciliation bill, Missouri will see an extra $1 billion for hospitals over the next four years. I want to see Medicaid reductions stopped and rural hospitals fully funded permanently.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware wrote on X, “Just so I’m clear… he’s introducing a bill….to repeal the bill… he voted for….two weeks ago?”
Hawley was one of the most vocal Republicans opposing Medicaid cuts when the tax bill was negotiated in the Senate. He told reporters on June 28 that his party has some “soul searching” to do on the issue.
After much pressure from GOP leadership, the bill passed through the upper chamber on July 1 with a tie breaking vote by Vice President JD Vance. Hawley said after the bill passed that he “will continue to do everything in my power to reverse future cuts to Medicaid.”
Trump’s law includes a number of other provisions aimed at reducing spending on Medicaid, including work requirements for able-bodied adults that will take effect in 2026. People between 19 and 64, for instance, would have to show that they are working at least 80 hours a month to be eligible for benefits.
Contributing: Savannah Kuchar and Ken Alltucker, Paste BN