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Dear Health Advocates,
Early Saturday morning, the Senate voted to advance their version of the budget blueprint. The Senate's proposal varies from the House's and while it doesn't directly delineate a specific number of cuts for health care programs, we know Medicaid is still extremely vulnerable in any budget reconciliation package. Still, the budget debate revealed that Medicaid can be a major sticking point between the House and Senate. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) co-sponsored an amendment with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) to strip House language affecting Medicaid from the resolution. That amendment failed by a vote of 49 to 50. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Jerry Moran (Kansas) and Susan Collins (Maine) voiced their own concerns about the Medicaid cuts proposed by the House.
Now, the House has one week before the next Congressional recess to pass the Senate blueprint, with Speaker Johnson looking to move quickly (voting as soon as tomorrow). With a 220-213 majority, the Speaker can lose only three Republicans on a party-line vote if all members are present and voting. If delayed beyond this week, Republicans will be at a crossroads — whether to make changes to the plan and send it back to the Senate (requiring another "vote-a-rama") or have both chambers will have to hammer out an agreement to move forward.
On the administrative front, Families USA is one of the organizations leading the effort to submit public comments on the recent ACA Marketplace proposed rule [[link removed]] that would drive up costs for people in Marketplace plans, make it harder to enroll, take away rights to coverage for “dreamers," and prohibit states from requiring coverage of gender-affirming care. We have included four links below for you to submit comments on a wide variety of the impacts of this rule.
* Cost of Coverage
* Submit comments here [[link removed]]


* Shorter Enrollment Periods * Submit comments here [[link removed]]


* Broker Fraud * Submit comments here [[link removed]]


* DACA * In order to submit an entirely anonymous comment, follow this link [[link removed]] and select “Anonymous” on the right hand side. Once selected, you can use the text below to craft your comment and submit it by following website instructions.



* I know [or am a] Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA) – that is, someone who has been in this country since childhood and has been allowed to work here, but is not a citizen. People with DACA status should be allowed to buy marketplace coverage because



* Without coverage, I [or this person] went without needed health care. [Describe]




* Without coverage, I [or this person] had medical expenses they couldn’t pay. [List some]




* Everyone needs coverage to protect them if they ever face illness or injury.








* Health Action Resource List * Families USA recently published our Health Action Resources List on our website, in which we compile resources from our partners for all of you to access in one place. You can find that page here [[link removed]] .


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* Email Writing Campaign: Tell Your Member of Congress - No Cuts to Medicaid! [[link removed]] Families USA
* Email Writing Campaign: Tell Congress: Reject Medicaid cuts that will pay for more tax cuts for the rich. [[link removed]] Coalition on Human Needs
* Template Comments for Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule: Your input on the [[link removed]] recently proposed Marketplace Integrity and Affordability rule [[link removed]] is important! [[link removed]] Community Catalyst, with invaluable contributions from National Immigration Law Center and National Health Law Program
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* Insights Blog: Work Reporting Requirements Don’t Work: An in-depth look as Idaho moves closer to adding costly red tape to Medicaid [[link removed]] Families USA
* Video: 90 Seconds or Less Policy Explainers. [[link removed]] Families USA [[link removed]]
* Press Release: Families USA Urges Senate to Reject Budget that Will Gut Medicaid and Rip Health Care Away from Millions of Americans [[link removed]] Families USA
* Articles: HHS Proposes To Restrict Marketplace Eligibility, Enrollment, And Affordability In First Major Rule Under Trump Administration [[link removed]] , Health Affairs
* Blog: Policymakers Can Protect Against Fraud in the ACA Marketplaces Without Hiking Premiums [[link removed]] , Commonwealth Fund and Georgetown CHIR
* Report: Proposed ACA Marketplace Rule Would Raise Health Care Costs for Millions of Families [[link removed]] , CBPP
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* Hill Day: Disability Policy Seminar Hill Advocacy Day [[link removed]] , Join Disability Policy Seminar and The Arc on Wednesday, April 9 for their Hill Advocacy Day.
* Rally at the Capitol: Rally to Say NO to Tax Breaks for Billionaires & Corporations [[link removed]] , Join Fair Share America and other advocates at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, April 10 at 12 PM ET to stand against taking away services working people depend on.
* Advocates Meeting: Wednesday Advocates Meeting Zoom call [[link removed]] , Coalition on Human Needs hosting on Wednesday, April 16 at 9:30 AM ET.
* Shared Advocacy Calendar: Coalition on Human Needs. Check out the April DC Week of Action starting on April 7!
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National Resources
* Resource Toolkit: Why Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Should Be Made Permanent. [[link removed]] Families USA
State Resources
* Ohio Comments: Families USA Submits Comments On the Ohio Department of Medicaid’s (ODM) Group VIII Demonstration Waiver [[link removed]] , Families USA
* Ohio Comments: Families USA Submits Comments on Ohio’s Multi-Year Continuous Eligibility for Children 1115 Demonstration Waiver Application [[link removed]] , Families USA
Medicaid Defense
* Medicaid FMAP Fact Sheet: Medicaid Federal Funding: Cuts to Federal Share (“FMAP”) Hurt Families, Providers and State Economies [[link removed]] . Families USA
* Medicaid Provider Taxes Fact Sheet: Medicaid Provider Taxes: Restricting Them Threatens Hospitals, the Health Care System and State Economies [[link removed]] . Families USA
* Medicaid Work Requirements Fact Sheet: Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements: Bureaucratic Burdens That Threaten Working Families, Providers and Local Economies [[link removed]] . Families USA
Other Resources
* Insights Blog: The Seven Biggest Threats to the ACA as it Turns 15 [[link removed]] , Families USA [[link removed]]
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CONNECT [[email protected]?subject=Wanting%20to%20connect&body=] GIVE FEEDBACK [[link removed]]
Have a great week,
Nate Keller
Partnerships Mobilization Associate
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