June 26 (UPI) -- Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on Thursday rejected limiting states' use of healthcare provider taxes to obtain more funding for Medicaid services, along with other provisions in the 2026 budget bill.
The proposal would have limited the use of healthcare provider taxes in states that expanded Medicaid coverage and in states that did not increase Medicaid under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reported.
The provision was projected to save the federal government potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid costs, which would have required states to either generate more tax dollars or reduce the scope of their respective Medicaid services programs.
MacDonough's ruling against it means the Senate will have to rework its proposed reconciliation bill to fund the federal government for the 2026 fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1.
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