Hospital advocates have two years to lobby for repeal of new Trump laws

Hospitals are busy planning how to lobby for changes in the new law. (Photo by P. Guillaume, Unsplash)

Since President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” became law, news headlines have warned how its Medicaid cuts will devastate local hospital systems. But many of those changes don’t take effect until 2028, giving “hospitals [and] their armies of lobbyists and many allies on Capitol Hill. . . two and a half years to persuade lawmakers to rescind them,” report Robert King, Amanda Chu and David Lim of Politico. “And 2028 is not only an election year, but a presidential one.”

Chris Mitchell, the head of the Iowa Hospital Association, told Politico, “We’re going to talk to our delegation early and often about the impact of these cuts and how looming cuts down the road impact how hospitals run in the interim. . . . Are they really going to want to cut rural hospitals in an election?”

Congress does have a history of “delaying or repealing the painful parts of major legislation,” King, Chu and Lim write. “Congress, for example, never allowed a tax on high-end ‘Cadillac’ insurance plans in 2010’s Affordable Care Act to take effect, and rescinded a tax on medical devices.”

The stretch from now until 2028 gives hospital executives and health care advocates time to push Congress into making changes or to pull back cuts. Politico reports, “Several state-based hospital associations say they will ramp up meetings with lawmakers to stress the need for an off-ramp before the 2028 elections.”

Eliminating Medicaid cuts comes with a downside for the U.S. economy and cost-weary consumers. “It’ll mean the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will be even more expensive than the Congressional Budget Office expects: $3.4 trillion in deficit spending over a decade,” Politico reports. “That will have ramifications across the U.S. economy, exposing Americans to higher interest rates and slower economic growth, budget experts warn.”