US: Moderate GOP Reps Won't Back Reconcilliation Bill Including Medicaid Cuts

A dozen moderate House Republicans have issued a letter to GOP leadership warning they won’t back a reconciliation package that includes major cuts to Medicaid. The letter is the opening salvo in what is expected to be a bitter dispute between Republican moderates and deficit hawks over how deeply to cut government spending to fund President Donald Trump’s tax agenda. 

• Punchbowl notes: “Remember, House Republicans’ reconciliation plan includes cutting $880 billion under the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s purview, much of which will likely have to come from Medicaid.”
• The letter reads: “We support targeted reforms to improve program integrity, reduce improper payments, and modernize delivery systems to fix flaws in the program that divert resources away from children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and pregnant women — those who the program was intended to help. However, we cannot and will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.”
• Notus reports that the same fissures are evident in the upper chamber: "Senators have already been clear that they won’t tolerate those kinds of [Medicare] cuts. Even Sen. Josh Hawley wanted assurances from Trump that Medicaid wouldn’t be touched in the final product — a promise that other senators also wanted and contradicts concessions that Freedom Caucus members extracted from House leaders."