Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said “significant headwinds” are ahead from health care cuts in the tax and spending bill, adding, “I think they’re coming too soon.”
Tillis spoke in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” Brennan noted he is retiring and was deeply frustrated by Republicans when they passed the tax and spending bill, which she said included Medicaid cuts and will deeply affect rural hospitals. She said more than 25% of people in North Carolina rely on Medicaid and asked, “Do you still expect devastating health care cuts in the new year?”
Tillis on Cut Timing
Tillis replied, “We’re going to have significant headwinds. It’s really a 10-year impact if you take a look at the original bill.”
He said he supported the bill’s tax provisions, but “it was the health care provisions beyond what the House has proposed that are problematic, and it’s going to take time.”
“What I was trying to do was not necessarily get rid of the cuts, but try to affect their timing,” Tillis said. “I think they’re coming too soon.”
Health Care and Elections
Tillis said, “We’ve got our work cut out for us because some of those impacts could also feed right into the 2029 election.”
Brennan asked, “So healthcare will be a big factor in that election, is your prediction?” Tillis answered, “Absolutely.”
Medicaid Cuts and Hospitals
The Medicaid cuts and rural hospitals Brennan raised have also drawn comment outside the interview.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a post on X earlier this month that Republicans “promised to lower costs but delivered a #RepublicanHealthcareCrisis instead.” She pointed to “$1 trillion in Medicaid cuts,” “Spiking premiums” and “Shuttered rural hospitals,” and said the party acted “to give tax breaks to their billionaire donors.”
A report released in March by watchdog group Public Citizen found nearly 450 hospitals face a high risk of closing or cutting services due to more than $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The report said Medicaid covers about a fifth of all hospital spending, and that the at-risk hospitals served nearly seven million patients in 2024.
Disclaimer: This content was produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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