Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is out with a new piece of legislation that would effectively repeal a large provision of the bill he just helped pass into law, Axios reported Tuesday.
His new bill, which he calls the "Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act," would "repeal a provider tax moratorium and the future reduction of provider tax authority in the reconciliation bill," reported Sabeen Habeshian. The provision is responsible for hundreds of billions worth of Medicaid cuts in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
These changes to Medicaid were a massive sticking point for Hawley and many other Republicans, as provider taxes are a key part of funding for rural hospitals around the country, leading health care executives to warn the legislation would cause a wave of hospital closures.
Hawley ultimately voted for the bill anyway, in part because it contained the fig leaf of a small bailout fund to stabilize rural hospitals. However, he is now voicing his desire to repeal the cuts altogether.
"President Trump has always said we have to protect Medicaid for working people," said Hawley in announcing the bill. "Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect. I want to see Medicaid reductions stopped and rural hospitals fully funded permanently."
All of this comes as Trump pushes the Senate to move forward with additional legislation that will codify many of his attempts to eliminate federal programs, including defunding foreign aid and public broadcasting.
Hawley has also said that there is massive discomfort with the bill as written within the GOP caucus, and there will likely be extensive changes to it to make it possible to pass.
