Don Bacon sets $500B red line on Medicaid

Source: Politico

04/29/2025 11:56 AM EDT


Rep. Don Bacon, a key GOP moderate, is drawing a red line on Medicaid cuts.

The Nebraska Republican has privately told the White House he won’t accept more than $500 billion in reductions to the program, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. That could complicate the GOP’s effort to pass a domestic policy bill that is set to include an extension of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.

Bacon has conveyed he wants to limit the changes to Medicaid to implementing the first-ever federal work requirements for the program, excluding noncitizens from eligibility for benefits and mandating more frequent eligibility checks. Bacon confirmed his $500 billion ceiling and the rough outline in a brief interview Tuesday.

His concerns speak to the broader complications Republicans face in trying to enact a massive party-line megabill that is also set to include border security, energy policy and other provisions. Moderates are wary of changes that could cut deep into safety-net programs, while conservative hard-liners want to drastically slash them — all with slim margins in the House and Senate.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/29/don-bacon-sets-500-billion-red-line-on-medicaid-00315397