Legislation introduced by House Republicans late Sunday would slash Medicaid spending significantly by imposing new restrictions on Medicaid beneficiaries like work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks, but the most controversial changes floated to the program were not included.

The bill from the House Energy and Commerce Committee comes ahead of what’s expected to be a marathon committee hearing on Tuesday.

It appears to cater more to the moderate wing of the party than the conservatives, who had been agitating for drastic cuts to the program. But it remains to be seen if leaders found the right balance between the two factions.

In a Wall Street Journal opinion article published Sunday ahead of the bill’s release, Guthrie indicated the changes to Medicaid shouldn’t be seen as a cut.

"Undoubtedly, Democrats will use this as an opportunity to engage in fear-mongering and misrepresent our bill as an attack on Medicaid,” he wrote. “In reality, it preserves and strengthens Medicaid for children, mothers, people with disabilities and the elderly—for whom the program was designed.”

The legislation does not include a per-beneficiary cap on federal Medicaid spending. Neither does it include a reduction in the minimum federal share to states, both of which were being pushed by conservatives.

Still, millions of people would lose health insurance under the plan through policies like work requirements and........

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