The delayed implementation of certain provisions of the House Republicans’ megabill, specifically regarding Medicaid, has angered some Republican fiscal hawks.
The new bill seeks to implement the perks of the fiscal plan now while pushing back the downsides, delaying work requirements and verification rules to be implemented in 2029, when Trump will have concluded his second term. The move has put the bill at risk, with some in the Republicans’ thin majority signaling they won’t vote it through.
“Significant changes [are needed] or it ain’t going anywhere. It’s laughable that you don’t have Medicaid requirements until ‘29,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said this week, according to Politico. “They’re trying to say, ‘Oh, we did the math.’ No, you didn’t. It’s phony math.”
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) specifically took issue with the delayed implementation of work requirements for Medicaid and the delayed phase-out of Biden-era clean energy tax credits.
“How is that a cut? How is that meeting the intent of the cuts? Why are they waiting? You got to do it now,” Norman said, deriding the bill as filled with “smoke and mirrors.”
“If it comes like it is, I’ve got a real problem with it,” he added.
The delayed implementation of bill provisions has put House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in a difficult situation. On one end, centrist Republicans in blue states fear the bad optics of work requirements for Medicaid, while on the other, Republican fiscal hawks want Medicaid work requirements implemented immediately.
When asked if he would move the Medicaid work requirement start date up in the bill, Johnson declined to comment.
“We have lots of discussions ahead,” he said.
The GOP bill would institute a federal work requirement for able-bodied people on Medicaid, ages 19 to 64, with exceptions for pregnant women and disabled people. Recipients would be required to work 80 hours per month.
HOUSE GOP ROLLS OUT MEDICAID PLAN COMPROMISE WITH STRICTER REQUIREMENTS
Another criticized proposal is the expansion of eligibility verification to twice a year. Recipients are currently only required to verify their eligibility once a year. The move is intended to prevent Medicaid fraud.
The bill has come under bipartisan criticism for instituting the benefits, such as no taxes on tips and overtime pay deductions, immediately, while delaying work requirements and verification until 2029.