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After a meeting Wednesday afternoon with vulnerable House Republicans wary of Medicaid cuts, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) acknowledged there are still obstacles to enacting major changes to the safety net program as part of the GOP’s massive megabill.
Lawmakers have been weighing a new plan to place so-called per capita caps on Medicaid funding to certain beneficiaries in states that have expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act. Guthrie told reporters Wednesday all options remain on the table at this point, but said there are still some opponents with whom he has not yet spoken.
“We've had a couple of comments from some people saying that seems to be too far for them to go,” Guthrie told reporters, adding that the sheer scale of work being done by Republicans as they try to extend Trump’s tax cuts and beef up border enforcement can add to confusion for lawmakers.
“The issue with everything that’s going on here is that the Ways and Means, Agriculture committees and others are all doing things and a lot of people aren’t exposed to it and they hear things,” Guthrie said. “I sit down and walk through some policy options and I think I made people feel more comfortable with where we are. We’re not going to do anything that’s drastic.”
The Energy and Commerce Committee has been tasked with finding $880 billion in cuts, meaning they will likely have to lean heavily on Medicaid to achieve those savings.
In the closed-door meeting, Guthrie ticked through current options Republicans were considering, but only verbally, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Earlier in the week, Energy and Commerce Republicans were treated to a formal slide deck laying out different policy options. Lawmakers at the meeting Wednesday asked for a list of the proposals but still have yet to receive anything.
Asked if his committee is still on track to mark up its portion of the bill next week as planned, Guthrie said, “we’re working.”
Guthrie also said he hasn’t spoken with Trump yet, but he’s looking to arrange that.
Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), who met with Guthrie Wednesday, said in an interview that the plans for the markup are still “fluid.” He said lawmakers are considering at least two types of work requirements, one optional and the other mandatory for states to adopt.
“There are a lot of different proposals flying around, a lot of evolution to this,” Bresnahan said. “We just need to get a handle on what it actually means and boiling it back down to my district.”
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) said Wednesday that Republicans could hit $370 billion in savings from work requirements, kicking noncitizens off rolls and more frequent eligibility checks.
Guthrie is planning to meet with House Freedom Caucus members later Wednesday evening, as the hard-liners push for steep spending cuts across the program.
Robert King contributed to this report.
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