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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) doubled down on his claim that there won’t be Medicaid cuts in President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” despite projections that millions of low-income individuals would lose health insurance as a result of the bill. Johnson, during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” pushed back on independent projections that the bill would lead to 4.8 million people who would lose coverage because of work requirements, saying they won’t lose it “unless they choose to do so.” ... He added that the people who are complaining about losing their coverage are doing so “because they can’t fulfill the paperwork,” noting that the policy follows “common sense.” (Scully, 6/1)

President Donald Trump’s top budget officer is playing down concerns among Republican senators that the administration’s sweeping megabill will add to the budget deficit and result in politically punishing Medicaid cuts. “We continue to work with people in the Senate as to working them through the specifics of the bill, what it does and what it doesn’t do,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday on “State of the Union.” (Svirnovskiy, 6/1)

Doctors’ associations, medical schools and student advocates warn that a proposal in the Republican-led budget bill being considered by Congress restricts graduate federal student loans and could worsen a national shortage of doctors. The new Republican proposal would limit federal student loans for “professional programs” – such as medical school – to $150,000, eliminate a federal graduate loan program and put limits on loan forgiveness. (Glenza, 6/1)

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst was met with shouts and groans when she said “we all are going to die” as she addressed potential changes to Medicaid eligibility at a town hall in north-central Iowa on Friday. ... Facing several constituents concerned about cuts to Medicaid, she defended the $700 billion in reduced spending, saying it would keep immigrants in the U.S. illegally and those who have access to insurance through their employers off the rolls. Then someone in the crowd yelled that people will die without coverage. (Fingerhut, 5/31)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Journalists Draw Link Between Internet Dead Zones, Threatened Medicaid Cuts, And Health

Céline Gounder, �鶹Ů�� Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed covid-19 vaccines and prostate cancer on WAMU’s “1A” on May 27. Senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble discussed how internet dead zones deepen chronic health issues in rural communities on The Commonwealth Fund’s “The Dose” on May 23. (5/31)