Access Living friends and allies,
As of this morning, we have important new updates about the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) pending before Congress. Again, this is the federal budget reconciliation bill that contains the largest cuts to Medicaid ever, as well as other components that would hurt people with disabilities. The bill is currently being worked on in the U.S. Senate. The breaking news today is that the Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that several parts of the OBBB would need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, as opposed to just 51 votes under the rules of reconciliation.
QUICK LINK: E-mail your Senators again at this link TODAY to save Medicaid!
What is the “Byrd bath”? The Byrd Rule, named after former Senator Robert Byrd, prevents Senators from including non-budget items in budget reconciliation bills. The Byrd “bath” is the process by which the Senate Parliamentarian reviews budget reconciliation legislation and removes items that do not comply with the Byrd rule. Items that do not comply require 60 votes to pass, not 51. Right now, the Senate is majority Republican, but they only hold 53 seats out of 100. Anything that requires 60 votes means that Democrats would need to help with votes.
The Senate parliamentarian ruled that so far, several parts of the OBBB would need 60 votes. This is a win for disability advocates, because it means the Senate will have a harder time making cuts to programs we need. Here are some of the key provisions that would need 60 votes. All of these would create harm for people with disabilities, because any cut to Medicaid or SNAP, is a cut, period.
- Cuts to federal SNAP money, which would force states to substantially increase their share of payments into SNAP.
- Prohibiting federal financial participation under Medicaid and CHIP for individuals without verified citizenship, nationality or satisfactory immigration status.
- Immigrant Medicaid Eligibility. This section denies federal funding to states for Medicaid coverage for certain immigrants who are not citizens.
- Lowers the Medicaid expansion federal medical assistance percentage from 90 percent to 80 percent for states that choose to provide coverage to people who are undocumented using the state’s own funds. This would essentially kill Medicaid for people in states with Medicaid expansion (like Illinois).
- Prohibiting Federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Funding for Gender Affirming Care.
- Decreasing the Provider Tax rate for healthcare providers.
- Limiting Medicare coverage of refugees, asylum seekers, and people with temporary protected status.
- Disallowing premium tax credit during periods of Medicaid ineligibility due to immigrant status.
The Senate parliamentarian is still not done, however. She needs to rule on several other items. Items that she has ruled out may be re-written in order to pass the bill. However, the Senate is running out of time to get the bill passed and in agreement with the House, before the President’s July 4 deadline. We need to keep up the pressure to oppose any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Cuts will only harm everyone. Again, if you have not contacted your US Senators, contact them at this link TODAY! They need to hear from all of us every day because lives are at stake. Keep your eye on the news!