The U.S. House of Representatives is currently debating President Donald Trump’s tax and spending megabill after a marathon voting session and narrow passage in the Senate. House members returned Wednesday to work through differences between the Senate version and the original version passed by the House in May. President Trump has asked lawmakers to send him a bill by Friday. However, it is not clear if Republicans currently have the votes to pass the legislation.
One of the issues with the bill continues to be changes to the Medicaid program. In addition to work requirements for able-bodied adults, the Senate version of the bill proposes to lower provider taxes, which states use to help fund their share of Medicaid costs. The Missouri Budget Project estimates this provision would cost an estimated $675 million per year when fully in effect and, when combined with federal funds, would reduce funding available for Medicaid by $1.9 billion per year in the state. The group also estimates that more than 170,000 Missourians would lose MO HealthNet (Medicaid) coverage under the bill.
To see the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ letter to Senators regarding the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, please click here.