May 13, 2025

I am listening to the House Energy and Commerce Committee markup of the language we sent you yesterday that lays out the provisions under consideration by the Committee as it attempts to find $880B in savings from the entitlement programs and other areas of the federal budget it is responsible for.

Here’s how you can listen/watch:  https://energycommerce.house.gov/events/full-committee-markup-of-budget-reconciliation-text

Below are two different paths you can take as you continue to advocate against deeply painful cuts and reductions being considered on The Hill today and in the weeks to come.  Doesn’t matter which path you choose – just act!

THANK YOU!!

Lauri

—————————-

 (Community Catalyst, 5/12)

As expected, the House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Committee released the text of their markup over the weekend and it’s every bit the disaster we’d feared. See Community Catalyst’s full statement here.

Below is our quick review of what’s in the initial markup and our to-dos over the next two days. Additionally, a substitute amendment was added this afternoon, which we are currently working our way through. Stay tuned for more on that later.

What the Text Says

Yesterday the House Energy and Commerce Committee released its proposal to make draconian cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act that will result in massive coverage losses and endless burdens for states – all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. According to the CBO, these would be the largest cuts to Medicaid in the history of the program, and would cause at least 13.7 millionpeople to lose their health insurance coverage. See our full breakdown of the proposed cuts and their likely impacts here.

The toplines of this current proposal include:

• Mandatory Work Requirements that require states to verify, at the time of enrollment and during eligibility determinations, that all “able-bodied” adults, 19-64 years of age, comply with 80 hours per month of employment, community service, work program, or education enrollment as part of eligibility requirements.
• 10% reduction in Medicaid expansion federal matching funds (FMAP) for states that provide health coverage for undocumented immigrants through Medicaid or other state-based programs. These states include California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Utah, among others.
• Increased frequency for eligibility determinations to every 6 months for individuals enrolled in Medicaid expansion.
• Prospectively ending the 5% enhanced federal match established under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for states that newly expand Medicaid.
• Shifting costs to Medicaid expansion enrollees through required increased cost sharing up to 5% of an individual’s income.  
• Restricting retroactive coverage for Medicaid and CHIP to one month prior to an individual’s application date.
• Prohibiting Medicaid and CHIP from covering gender affirming care for minors.  
• Prohibiting Medicaid funding to large providers that offer family planning and abortion care services.  
• Eliminating the requirement and making it optional for states to enroll people 90 days before verifying citizenship eligibility for Medicaid.
• Largely codifies the harmful proposed Marketplace Program Integrity rule. CBO estimates that these changes will cause roughly 2 million people to lose coverage, beyond the coverage loss expected by the termination of the enhance Premium Tax Credits.
• Delaying implementation of the final rule to Streamline Enrollment in Medicare Savings Programs by 10 years.
• Delaying implementation of the final rule for Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-term Care Facilities by 10 years.

Ways to Take Action Today/Tomorrow

Now that we have the text and House leadership’s plans to make massive cuts to Medicaid and the ACA are irrefutable, we need to ramp up our efforts – keeping pressure on squishy moderates and making their complicity in these plans to take health care away from people so uncomfortable and untenable that leadership is forced to change course entirely. Here’s where to focus your efforts:

• Flood E&C member offices with phone calls if you/your organization are in their district or state. We’re using SEIU’s call in number, 866-426-2631, and this template script. Here’s the full list of members on E&C. Priority target members (who are both on our broader target list AND members of this committee) are:
  • NJ: Rep Kean; and
  • VA: Rep. Griffith.
• If your member is not on E&C, log calls to their office this week as well. Again, we’re using SEIU’s call in number, 866-426-2631, and this template script. This action is important for keeping up pressure on members and holding them accountable, particularly as this process moves forward and we get closer to another joint recess at the end of the month. In addition to keeping this pressure on, logging these calls regularly helps us continue to get up-to-date intel from these offices about where members stand (when they flip, it’ll be quickly, and we’ll want to be well positioned to coalesce around these members). Here’s our priority target list (meaning, start here and work your way to other members as you have capacity):
  • AZ: Reps. Ciscomani and Schweikert
  • CA: Reps. Calvert, Young, and Valadao
  • CO: Rep. Hurd
  • ID: Rep. Simpson
  • NE: Rep. Bacon
  • NJ: Reps. Kean (on E&C), (Chris) Smith, and Van Drew
  • NY: Reps. Garbarino, LaLota, Lawler, and Stefanik
  • OH: Rep. Joyce
  • PA: Rep. Fitzpatrick
  • UT: Rep. Curtis
  • VA: Reps. Kiggans, Wittman, and Griffith (on E&C).
• Now’s the time to make public noise. Press conferences, public events, strategic social media uproar (especially when you tag members directly is all important for sending a message to the members of E&C voting this week, and to members who are watching how this goes in preparation for the next phases in this process when they, too, will have to vote. Check out all of our tools for helping you organize here.If you need help getting started on social media, check out Community Catalyst’s posts on Linkedin, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
• Send in Medicaid stories. Health care champions in the House are collecting community stories from people in House districts represented by Republicans to read on the floor and/or use to amplify the disconnect between the needs of communities and the actions House leaders are taking. They are also looking for stories from any/every district (or district-adjacent location) represented by a member of E&C (including Democrats). If you have stories to share, please send them to Community Catalyst Director of Government Affairs, Michelle Sternthal at msternthal@communitycatalyst.org to pass along – she will be sure to credit your organization in her communications. You can also encourage community members to share their own stories using our Soapboxx portal here.
• Please sign and share this petition with your networks to tell Congress: HANDS OFF MEDICAID!
• Register for Friday’s Medicaid Defense Field Call. Join Community Catalyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), Families USA, and NHeLP on Friday, May 16 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET for a deeper analysis of the markup language and to discuss next steps for our Medicaid defense advocacy leading up to the May recess, House floor vote, and beyond. Register here.

Next Steps in the Legislative Process

The E&C markup vote is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET. You can watch live here. It will likely go well into the night. Members will offer amendments to be voted on, but we’re not expecting the text to change substantially.

Following the E&C vote, the House Budget Committee will be working to compile all the committee markups into one big reconciliation bill. They are trying to get this done before they all go out on recess May 26-30, but we won’t know how close they are to meeting this deadline until later this week.

—————–

From the Partnership to End Addiction 

————————–
More than 300 physicians, harm reduction workers, and researchers signed a letter to Congress warning of “dire consequences” if proposed federal budget cuts to addiction and overdose prevention programs are enacted. The letter highlights the White House’s 2026 budget, which includes billions in cuts to the CDC, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and other key public health programs. Advocates argue that the historic 26% drop in overdose deaths in 2024, the largest since the opioid crisis began, is a direct result of increased investment, and cutting funding now could reverse that progress. Experts are particularly concerned about impacts on rural and low-income communities, as well as potential Medicaid reductions that could leave millions without addiction treatment. (Article here)