The AAMC reiterated its main priorities and concerns related to the budget reconciliation process in a June 5 letter (PDF) to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), and Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The letter follows the House passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which finances President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda, including an extension and expansion of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97, PDF), through cuts to the health care safety net, higher education programs, and other programs [refer to Washington Highlights, May 23].
In the letter, the AAMC emphasized its opposition to the House-passed reconciliation bill’s proposal to cut nearly $725 billion from the Medicaid program over the next decade, emphasizing that cuts of this magnitude would destabilize the health care safety net and restrict access to coverage and care for millions of Americans. The letter further highlighted the association’s concerns with the legislation’s proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act marketplace exchanges and premium tax credits, arguing that the legislation would make it more difficult for working- and middle-class families to afford health insurance coverage in the individual market. Finally, the AAMC urged the Senate to preserve federal student aid programs for health professions students, including the Grad PLUS program and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
- Washington Highlights