On the Hill: Reconciliation 2.0 Goes to the House

This week, the House prepares to vote on a $69.5 billion budget reconciliation bill that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol through 2029, following Senate passage by a 52-47 vote on June 5. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will need near-total Republican unity, as the measure is not expected to receive any Democratic support.

Johnson can afford to lose no more than two Republican votes if all members are present and Democrats remain united in opposition. He already is likely to face resistance from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a fiscal hawk who opposed President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year.

Harmful 'Fraud' Bill on House Floor

H.R. 8464, the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act, is slated for consideration on the House floor this week. This bill would significantly expand the administration's ability to withhold Medicaid funding from states. H.R. 8464 would both enable and incentivize similar actions going forward, allowing the administration to block critical payments on which individuals and families rely, while potentially making such actions more difficult to challenge in court.

America's Essential Hospitals urges members to contact their representatives as soon as possible this week and encourage them to vote "NO" on H.R. 8464 on the House floor.

Committee Activity This Week

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a Health Hearing on "Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: Examining Policies to Increase Health Care Transparency" on June 10, at 10:15 am ET. This legislative hearing builds on the committee's health affordability series and will explore several policies to increase transparency in the health care sector.

Specifically, this hearing will examine legislation to enhance transparency for health plans' rate and payment information, services furnished in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, and clinical laboratory tests and imaging services. The hearing also will consider discussion drafts that would require hospitals to post on their walls the discounted case price of shoppable services specified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and to enhance consumers' understanding of plans' overhead costs and prior authorization use when shopping for plans.

Witnesses will include Carol Skenes, chief of staff, Turquoise Health; Shawn Gremminger, president and CEO, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions; Benedic Ippolito, PhD, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Christopher Whaley, PhD, associate director of the Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research and associate professor of health services, policy and practice, Brown University School of Public Health; and Sophia Tripoli, MPH, senior director of health policy, Families USA.

The Senate is in session Monday through Friday, and the House is in session Monday through Thursday.

VITAL2026

Enjoy refreshments and entertainment at a complimentary Sunset Social event sponsored by the FAN during VITAL2026 in Minneapolis. It will be held from 6-9 pm CT, on Thursday, June 11, in the Winter Lounge at The Dayton's Project, located next to the Royal Sonesta Minneapolis Downtown.

Essential Hospitals Political Action Committee donors at or above the Essential Advocate level are invited to an exclusive dinner and stadium tour of U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, on Wednesday, June 10 from 6-9 pm CT. Transportation is provided from the hotel. Please contact Julia Cecil at [email protected] with any questions.

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