| | | |  | | By Kelly Hooper and Chelsea Cirruzzo | | Presented by |  | | | With Alice Miranda Ollstein, Erin Schumaker and Robert King
| | REPUBLICANS OPPOSE MEDICAID CUTS — A majority of President Donald Trump’s voters don’t want Congress to cut Medicaid, a new poll has found, underscoring the politically sensitive decision GOP lawmakers face as their leaders explore proposals to slash spending on the health insurance program for low-income Americans. More than 60 percent of Republicans and Trump voters say that Medicaid is “very important” to their local community, according to a KFF poll released today. And support for cutting the program is relatively low among conservative groups, with 33 percent of Republicans and 35 percent of Trump supporters favoring cuts. In rural communities, which could be particularly hard hit by funding reductions, 23 percent of total residents and 35 percent of Republicans support Medicaid cuts, according to the poll. Across these groups, larger shares say they want Congress to increase or maintain Medicaid funding. “I am about ready to say Medicaid is up there with Social Security and Medicare on the public’s do-not-cut list,” said KFF President and CEO Drew Altman in a news release. “That’s a real change since the beginning of the program, and one that Republicans in Washington are coming to grips with.” Why it matters: The polling comes as GOP leadership floats proposals to cut spending on the health insurance program that serves more than 70 million low-income Americans. The House approved a budget blueprint last week that tasks a key committee with finding $880 billion in savings over 10 years, most of which would likely come out of Medicaid. Among the proposals are ones that would slash the tax states can levy on providers to increase their Medicaid funding and add work requirements. House Speaker Mike Johnson has ruled out some of the possibilities — including capping Medicaid funding to states based on population and cutting the federal Medicaid funding match rate — and emphasized eliminating fraud and abuse in the program. Even so: Any proposed cuts could be politically perilous for Republicans, with some representing large numbers of Medicaid enrollees. Republicans rely on low-income voters more than they have in decades, with Trump the first Republican presidential candidate to win the poorest third of the electorate since the 1960s. Republicans will be fighting for every seat during the midterms to hang onto their slim House majority. And Trump’s own comments on Medicaid suggest he’s aware of the potential political peril — he recently said he wants to “love and cherish” it. WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE. PBS brought some familiar faces to a rally outside the NPR headquarters yesterday: Big Bird, Elmo, and The Count von Count joined advocates protesting the Trump administration’s proposed funding cuts to public radio and TV stations. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to khooper@politico.com and ccirruzzo@politico.com, and follow along @Kelhoops and @ChelseaCirruzzo.
| | | | A message from the Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare: Medicaid is the largest single source of health coverage in the U.S., providing high-quality care for more than 72 million Americans, including children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. Medicaid helps provide security to our friends and neighbors, keeping them healthy at every stage of life. Congress should vote against efforts to reduce Medicaid funding and instead focus on policies that strengthen access to 24/7 care. Learn more. | | | | | DEMS LAY HEALTH BILL GROUNDWORK — Senate Democrats are pressing for a floor vote on the bipartisan, bicameral health care policy package that was scrapped in December, POLITICO’s Daniel Payne and Ben Leonard report. “Senator Wyden is ready to pass these bipartisan health care priorities, which have been blocked for unrelated reasons for too long. Introducing this legislation is the first step towards allowing the Senate to swiftly act,” a spokesperson for the Oregon senator, the ranking member of the Finance Committee, said in a statement. Background: The package would include reforms to the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate drug costs, alongside an extension of eased telehealth and hospital-at-home rules. It also would impose new measures to fight the opioid crisis and prevent cuts in pay for doctors treating Medicare patients. It also includes long-term telehealth extensions for rural hospitals and reforms for the organ transplant system, according to a staffer familiar with the text. The bill was set for inclusion in a year-end funding bill before President Donald Trump complained the funding bill was overly broad and the health package was scrapped. Democrats are hoping Trump sees the issue differently now.
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Dr. Marty Makary testifies before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on his nomination to be FDA commissioner. | Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images | MAKARY HEARING HIGHLIGHTS — At his Tuesday confirmation hearing, FDA commissioner nominee Marty Makary dodged senators’ questions about how he would regulate the abortion drug mifepristone, POLITICO’s Lauren Gardner and David Lim report. The Johns Hopkins surgeon would not commit to maintaining or rolling back the FDA’s current approach and instead repeatedly told lawmakers on the Senate HELP Committee he would scrutinize the pill’s safety data and talk to career scientists at the agency. “I have no preconceived plans on mifepristone policy except to take a solid, hard look at the data and then to meet the professional career scientists who have reviewed the data at the FDA,” Makary said. Even though Makary’s answers on mifepristone didn’t satisfy Democrats, he is well-positioned to be confirmed and could potentially secure some Democratic support when the committee meets to vote on his nomination next Thursday. Makary also declined to commit to rescheduling a meeting of the FDA’s outside vaccine advisers to recommend strains for next season’s flu shots. “You have my commitment to take a look at it” if confirmed, Makary said, responding to a question from Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.). “My understanding is — at least, over the last seven or eight years that I've been following that group — we have simply rubber stamped whatever the international [Global Influenza Program]” recommended. He repeatedly told senators he wasn’t involved in the decision to cancel the meeting and has “no preconceived plans.” He committed to reviewing how and when the panel convenes.
| | CMS’ GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE WARNING — The Trump administration warned hospitals not to perform gender-affirming care for minors and hinted of more regulations to come, Robert reports. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued an alert on Wednesday to hospitals reminding them to protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.” The reminder comes more than a month after President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to cut federal money to hospitals that perform gender-affirming care. A federal district court judge in Maryland on Tuesday blocked the administration from cutting funding after LGBTQ+ civil rights groups sued. The alert nonetheless said that it is aware of serious quality and safety concerns surrounding gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers and hormone treatments. The agency hinted it could go further and draft new “CMS-regulated provider requirements and agreements.” CROWDS RALLY FOR SCIENCE — Thousands are expected to rally on the National Mall in Washington today, with satellite events around the country, in defense of government-backed scientific research that has come under threat as a result of the Trump administration’s moves to slash funding and eliminate projects related to race and gender. The Washington demonstration will feature speeches from current and former members of Congress, former administration officials and celebrity scientists — including former NIH Director Francis Collins, author Atul Gawande, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Bill Nye, the science guy. Colette Delawalla, a PhD candidate in psychology at Emory University and one of the lead organizers of the event, told POLITICO she hopes it sends a strong message of opposition to the “coordinated, multifaceted, flood-the-zone style attack against science in America” coming from the Trump administration. One top concern is the government’s attempt to roll back federal funding for the “indirect costs” universities incur when supporting research, like lab space and ethics reviews, which a federal court has blocked for now. Another is the mass-firings at the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and other government agencies. Delawalla hopes the event will push members of Congress, many of whom represent districts where federal research dollars support jobs, to mobilize against the administration’s funding cuts. “If you have flown on a plane, if you have used the internet, if you brushed your teeth this morning, if you saw a doctor, if you used anything with rubber today, you have benefited from the institution of American science,” she said. “It doesn't matter who you voted for. It doesn't matter even if you voted. It doesn't matter if you are even living in the United States. This impacts you.”
| | | | A message from the Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare:  
| | | | | POLITICO’s Sophie Gardner reports on the second death in a growing measles outbreak. POLITICO's Ben Leonard reports on certain health policy provisions expected to be included in a stopgap measure to keep the government funded. POLITICO’s Dasha Burns and Kyle Cheney report on Trump’s new limits on Elon Musk. Bloomberg’s Rachel Adams-Heard and Polly Mosendz report on a federal medical contractor that is cashing in despite a troubled record.
| | | | A message from the Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare: Medicaid plays a crucial role in the health of America's most vulnerable citizens- our neighbors and friends, including 30 million children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities.
Some policymakers are considering Medicaid cuts that would strip coverage from countless patients and threaten Americans' access to comprehensive, 24/7 hospital care. Medicaid covers health services for patients who otherwise wouldn't be able to pay for care. Coverage of services is essential for hospitals, and helps ensure all Americans have access to high-quality, 24/7 care, no matter where they live.
Tell Congress: Don't cut 24/7 access to care - protect Medicaid funding for 30 million American children and their families. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | |
