CHARLESTON, S.C. — When Page Campbell’s doctor recommended she try an injectable prescription drug called Wegovy to lose weight before scheduling bariatric surgery, she readily agreed.

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Health care has proved a vulnerable target for the firehose of cuts and policy changes President Donald Trump ordered in the name of reducing waste and improving efficiency. But most of the impact isn’t as tangible as, say, higher egg prices at the grocery store.

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WINNER, S.D. — Sophie Hofeldt planned to receive prenatal care and give birth at her local hospital, 10 minutes from her house. Instead, she’s driving more than three hours round trip for her appointments.

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Planned Parenthood clinics have provided sexual and reproductive health services across the country since 1916 and currently serve over 2 million patients a year through close to 600 clinics across the United States. In many communities Planned Parenthood is the only clinic offering reproductive health care, including contraception, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, abortion services, pregnancy testing, cancer screenings like Pap smears and breast exams, and other preventive services.

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Congressional Republicans are considering a budget reconciliation package that would make significant changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For example, the Energy and Commerce Committee released legislative text that includes work and reporting requirements for certain Medicaid enrollees and codifying changes in a recent Trump Administration proposed rule on the ACA Marketplaces, among other policy changes.

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The House and Senate are working on legislation to meet the requirements in the budget resolution, which targets cuts to Medicaid of up to $880 billion or more over 10 years. Although it is unclear what specific policies will be included in the final reconciliation bill, significant reductions in Medicaid spending would likely impact hospitals given that the program accounted for about one fifth (19%) of all spending on hospital care in 2023.

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The recently passed budget resolution targets cuts to Medicaid of up to $880 billion or more over a decade to help pay for tax cuts. Major cuts to Medicaid may impact coverage for the almost 1 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries (11.9 million) who are also enrolled in Medicaid.

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