Republicans say they have a strategy to avoid a repeat of the midterms in 2018, when Democrats attacked them for Trump’s original tax cuts, which they argued disproportionately benefited the wealthy, and for seeking to cut health care for the working class by unsuccessfully trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The calculation among many Republicans in battleground states and districts who voted for the bill is that the Democratic warnings about massive cuts to Medicaid will fall flat with voters — not only because the cuts were tailored to target “waste, fraud and abuse,” but also because the changes aren’t set to kick in until after the 2026 midterms. Under the bill, the new work requirements for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will kick in latest by the start of 2027, while new restrictions on state provider taxes — which trigger federal payments that are a major source of revenue for rural hospitals — will start in 2028.
Author: Sahil Kapur, Melanie Zanona, Julie Tsirkin
Published at: 2025-07-07 22:06:53
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