Senate Parliamentarian Strikes Key Medicaid Provisions, Handing Setback to Republicans

Washington D.C. - In a significant development for U.S. healthcare policy, the Senate Parliamentarian has reportedly stripped key Medicaid provisions from a proposed budget bill. The ruling, announced today, represents a major setback for Senate Republicans and a notable victory for advocates of broader healthcare access. The removed provisions included measures that would have denied states Medicaid funding for undocumented immigrants and prevented the use of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for gender-affirming care. Additionally, other Republican-proposed cost-saving measures related to Medicaid were also reportedly removed. This ruling means that the Senate will no longer require the traditional 60 votes to include these specific provisions in the bill. Instead, the legislation can now proceed with a simple majority of 50 votes, a process known as reconciliation. This shift in voting requirements is expected to significantly impact the final form of the budget bill and its implications for healthcare funding and access across the nation.