Neal: Democrats Will Push to Reverse HR 1 Medicaid Cuts
Rep. Richard Neal, incoming House Ways and Means chairman, told Bloomberg on Nov. 12 that Democrats plan to move quickly on reviving expired enhanced ACA premium subsidies and reversing Medicaid cuts from HR 1, with Senate Democratic leaders coordinating on the strategy. President Trump's veto power limits Democrats' options, leaving committee oversight and spending-bill negotiations as their main tools. HR 1 imposes Medicaid expansion work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks starting Jan. 1, with changes to state-directed payments set for 2028; sixteen Senate Democrats asked leadership on Nov. 9 for a two-year delay. Sen. Andy Kim's "MediKids" bill, which would expand Medicaid eligibility and require automatic newborn enrollment through age 26, is listed as a first-year consideration, and some House Democrats from Texas are pushing for federal intervention on the state's Medicaid application backlog, which grew from 1,671 pending applications in January to 237,505 by September.