Senate Parliamentarian Blocks Multiple GOP Medicaid, Abortion Funding Cuts

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has struck down several key provisions in the Republican-backed budget reconciliation bill, known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," that aimed to restrict healthcare funding and access. The parliamentarian rejected language prohibiting federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act from going to health plans that cover abortion services, a provision seen as a backdoor nationwide abortion ban that could have severely impacted states like Connecticut, Michigan, and Washington, D.C. Additionally, MacDonough disallowed efforts to cap states' use of healthcare provider taxes to increase federal Medicaid funding, a move that would have generated substantial savings to offset permanent corporate tax cuts championed by President Trump. Provisions banning federal funding for gender-affirming care through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program were also ruled out for violating Senate rules. Democrats, including Senators Jeff Merkley and Patty Murray, have praised these rulings as critical victories against Republican plans to raise out-of-pocket healthcare costs, restrict reproductive rights, and implement deep cuts to Medicaid and other health programs. However, some Medicaid cuts and other controversial measures remain in the bill, and the fight over its final contents continues in the Senate.