June 30, 2025 – The Week in Health Care News
Your digest on the happenings in health care this week | June 30, 2025
Attacks on Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act
Senator Chris Murphy had previously announced the formation of a PAC to fight back against Trump and Republicans in Congress and one of the recipients of the PAC’s support is the Committee to Protect Health Care. On June 25, he posted a twitter thread where he mentioned that his group is working with the Committee. “We formed a $200,000 partnership with the Committee to Protect Health Care,” he wrote. “They organize doctors and nurses to fight the Medicaid cuts in key states.”
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the Senate’s version of the Big Beautiful Billionaire Tax Giveaway (BBBTG) that passed through that chamber yesterday would throw 11.8 million Americans off of their health insurance. That’s 1 million higher than the 10.9 million the CBO estimated for the House bill. It would also cut $1 trillion from Medicaid.
We call it the Big Beautiful Billionaire Tax Giveaway because billionaires are the ones who get most of the benefits. You can see that in graphical form HERE.
The future of the Senate’s bill was put into question when the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that a number of critical provisions violated the Senate’s rules.
Opposition to the Senate bill came from an unlikely source: Republicans. More than a dozen of them sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson saying that they “cannot support a final bill that threatens access to coverage or jeopardizes the stability of our hospitals and providers.”
The Trump administration sent snake oil salesman Dr. Oz to calm their nerves.
Following a speech decrying the bill, Republican Senator Thom Tillis announced he will not be running for reelection. He then had more choice words about the bill.
In an effort to protect rural hospitals from the devastating impacts of capping the provider tax, Sen. Susan Collins introduced an amendment to create a new top marginal tax rate for the nation’s wealthiest income earners and use the money to double the size of a proposed temporary 4-year rural hospital relief fund from $25 billion to $50 billion. The amendment was voted down.
Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a group of Republicans in a private meeting last week not to worry about people being upset about the massive cuts to Medicaid because, “they’ll get over it.”
On Tuesday morning, the Senate voted to pass their bill with a narrow 51-50 margin with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.
KFF has an excellent run-down of what’s in both the Senate and House bills HERE.
Committee News
On June 25, the Committee hosted a multi-state press call with physicians from Maine, Louisiana, Utah, and North Carolina calling on their senators to oppose Medicaid cuts. The call has generated dozens of press hits and reached an audience of over 42 million people.
Ahead of the June 25 press call, the Washington Post's politics blog Early Brief ran the exclusive release of the Committee’s Medicaid defense letter signed by more than 4,000 physicians across the country.
On June 26, Committee Advocates Dr. Aisha Harris and Dr. Brittany Tayler joined Fair Share America’s bus tour stop in Flint, MI to speak about the impact of Medicaid cuts. That same day, Committee Member Dr. Allan Wilke attended a demonstration outside Rep. Bill Huizenga’s office (MI-04) organized by the Protect MI Care coalition.
On June 28, the Committee hosted a ‘Hands Off Medicaid’ rally and press conference in Lansing, Michigan. The event featured Sen. Chris Murphy who attended the event virtually.
Committee Member Dr. Emily Boevers (above) spoke at Fair Share America’s Stop the Billionaire Bus Tour’s stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 29.
Committee Advocates Dr. Stephen Blonsky (above left) and Dr. Danae Steele (above right) joined the Bus Tour for stops in Racine and Oshkosh, Wisconsin on June 30.
Trump Administration News
On June 26, during an HHS budget hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, Democrats grilled HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. on a variety of topics including his firing of all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP.) Rep. Kim Schrier told him, "Mr. Secretary, you're now on the record. You lied to Sen. Cassidy. You have lied to the American people. You have lied to parents about vaccines for 20 years. I will lay all responsibility for every death from a vaccine-preventable illness at your feet.”
After Rep. Frank Pallone pointed out RFK, Jr.’s shocking lack of transparency about decisions he’s making as the head of his department, Kennedy attacked Pallone and then was forced to retract his comments.
In his comments about Kennedy slashing of over $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rep. Marc Veasey noted that Kennedy has been public about his own history of substance use … "Mr. Secretary," Veasey said, "I think that it's great that you talked about your recovery, but, man, you can't pull the ladder and shut the door."
Last week, Kennedy’s new ACIP met for the first time for a two-day meeting. Just before the meeting one of the people hand-picked by Kennedy resigned, leaving them with just seven members. Dr. Michael Ross, appointed by Kennedy, resigned due to conflicts of interest, the very reason Kennedy fired the original 17 members for.
During the meeting, ACIP members voted to walk back longstanding recommendations for flu vaccines containing thimerosal, an ingredient that the anti-vaccine movement has falsely linked to autism.
A presentation before the vote was given by Lyn Redwood, a former leader of Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaxx group founded by Kennedy. Her presentation cited a study that did not exist and got the amount of thimerosal in vaccines wrong.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) boycotted the meeting and released a powerful video in which AAP President Dr. Susan Kressly said, “We won't lend our name or our expertise to a system that is being politicized at the expense of children's health. But we're not stepping back. We're stepping up. The AAP will continue to publish our own immunization schedule, just as we always have. Developed by experts. Guided by science. Trusted by pediatricians and families across the country.”
RFK, Jr. has appointed someone to look for “lost” data proving vaccines cause autism.
Vinay Prasad, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, says that the risks of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the benefits in low-risk populations.
Reproductive Rights
Via POLITICO, The Supreme Court clears way for states to kick Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid.
The Hill reports that reproductive rights groups fear Supreme Court ruling will inspire anti-abortion politicians.
ProPublica reports that, unsurprisingly, Texas’ near total abortion ban has increased the number of pregnant people who nearly die from miscarriages
Other Health Care News
On June 24, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced that she had filed three lawsuits against pharmacy giant CVS Health Corp. “for unfair, deceptive, and unlawful practices that have harmed Louisiana patients, independent pharmacies, and the public at large.”
In Ohio, independent pharmacies are accusing the state’s Chamber of Commerce of siding with pharmacy giants to drive them out of business.
HEALTH CARE un-covered reports that health insurers delayed mandatory reforms to their prior authorization processes, then rebranded them as voluntary pledges.
Despite the fact that prior authorization in Medicare Advantage plans prevented some seniors from getting medically necessary care, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Innovation (CMS) announced last week that they will begin requiring more prior authorization in their traditional Medicare.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a case governing the regulation of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in Oklahoma.