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House adopts budget resolution. Now eyes turn to Medicaid

House Republicans on Thursday adopted the Senate’s framework that will be used to enact key parts of President Trump’s legislative agenda, like an extension of his first term tax cuts.

© AP

Now, both chambers will have to begin the hard part of figuring out how to pay for the legislation, which will likely involve a cut to Medicaid.

Until now, the discussions have involved theoretical numbers, with lawmakers avoiding any specifics about Medicaid. They’ve waved vaguely at the idea of cutting “waste fraud and abuse” without diving into just how big the cuts will be and who will be impacted.

That’s all likely going to change.

The House and Senate have not come to a formal compromise on how much federal spending they want to slash — the House plan calls for $1.5 trillion over ten years, but the Senate would only cut $4 billion over a decade.

The hard-liners in the House who want deep cuts voted in favor of the resolution Thursday, claiming they have assurances from House and Senate leaders that significant spending cuts will be included in the final compromise bill.

Medicaid has been at the center of most of the conversations about spending cuts. The House resolution instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, to reduce government spending by $880 billion over a decade.

But some Senate Republicans have expressed unease, and sometimes outright opposition, to any bill that will cut Medicaid benefits. An amendment introduced during the Senate floor debate on the budget resolution would have banned cuts to Medicaid to reach the $880 billion threshold in the House bill. It failed by one vote.

There have been mentions of work requirements and about eliminating the enhanced matching rate for the expansion population. It’s still unclear which path will be taken.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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