Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Doctor Shortage Could Grow More Dire With Bill's Limits On Med School Loans
President Trump鈥檚 policy agenda would make deep cuts in government health plans and medical research, and, critics say, could also make finding a doctor more difficult. The Republicans鈥 major domestic policy bill restricts loans that students rely on to pursue professional graduate degrees, making the path to becoming a physician harder even as doctor shortages loom and the American population is graying. (Caryn Rabin, 6/9)
Senate Republicans intend to propose revised tax and health-care provisions to President Donald Trump鈥檚 $3 trillion signature economic package this week, shrugging off condemnations of the legislation by Elon Musk as they rush to enact it before July 4. The Senate Finance Committee鈥檚 plan to extract savings from the Medicaid and 鈥 perhaps 鈥 Medicare health insurance programs could depart in key respects from the version of the giant bill that narrowly passed the US House in May. The release of the panel鈥檚 draft will likely touch off a new round of wrangling between fiscal conservatives and moderates. (Wasson, 6/9)
A handful of Republican senators want to dial back federal funding cuts to Medicaid in President Trump鈥檚 tax cut package, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. But the changes that most of them are focused on would not help many people keep their insurance. (Wilkerson, 6/9)
When is a Medicaid cut not actually a cut?聽聽That鈥檚 the $800 billion question facing Senate Republicans as they write their own version of the sweeping House-passed tax and spending bill.聽Administration officials and senators defending against attacks on the bill have coalesced around a message that there will be no cuts to benefits, and the only people who will lose coverage are the ones who never deserved it to begin with: namely immigrants without legal status and 鈥渁ble-bodied鈥 individuals who shouldn鈥檛 be on Medicaid.聽(Weixel, 6/9)