House Republicans seem to be reconsidering some, but not all, of the drastic cuts to the Medicaid program proposed in their extensive tax reduction bill, due to encountering opposition from more moderate GOP representatives who object to eliminating almost free healthcare for their constituents.

A recent report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that millions of Americans could lose Medicaid coverage under Republican proposals to reduce costs, aiming for significant cuts across federal programs to offset revenue lost from substantial tax breaks.

The CBO report indicated that adopting any of the proposed options would result in a decline in Medicaid enrollment and a rise in the number of uninsured individuals.

The results caused new doubts about whether House Speaker Mike Johnson can pass what President Donald Trump calls his "big, beautiful bill" by the deadline he set for Memorial Day.

Legislators are becoming more apprehensive, especially given heightened economic concerns stemming from Trump's policies, such as the trade dispute potentially leading to increased costs, shortages, and unemployment nationwide. A key element of the proposal is the Republican priority of prolonging tax reductions introduced in 2017, which are set to expire shortly. However, they advocate for spending reductions elsewhere to finance these extensions and curb the ongoing increase in national debt and deficits.

All week, Johnson has been meeting privately in the speaker's office at the Capitol with different groups of Republicans. This includes the more moderate Republican lawmakers from areas with close elections across the country. These lawmakers are warning against big spending cuts that would really hurt their districts.

Democrats, who had commissioned the CBO report, swiftly capitalized on the findings.

A neutral analysis from the Congressional Budget Office supports what we have been saying: Republican plans for Medicaid would mean millions of people lose their healthcare, said Rep. Frank Pallone, who asked for the analysis with Sen. Ron Wyden.

Following a meeting on Tuesday evening, Republican representatives suggested that Johnson and the GOP leadership intended to abandon certain highly contested alterations to the federal matching funds allocated to states for Medicaid.

According to Representative Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from New Jersey, the proposed alterations to Medicaid will not be implemented.

Republican Representative Nick LaLota of New York pointed out that Trump himself has stated his opposition to Medicaid reductions, adding that the prevailing view among Republicans is to target cuts in other areas.

Other proposals, LaLota mentioned, include establishing work prerequisites for individuals receiving Medicaid, necessitating recipients to reconfirm their eligibility semiannually rather than annually, and guaranteeing that no immigrants residing unlawfully in the U.S. are receiving assistance.

Conversely, more conservative Republicans, notably members of the House Freedom Caucus, are advocating for deeper spending reductions to counteract surging deficits stemming from tax concessions.

Medicaid operates as a collaborative initiative between individual states and the federal government, currently providing coverage to 71 million adults.

Republicans are exploring a range of possibilities to decrease federal expenditure on the program, such as diminishing the portion the federal government contributes to enrollees' healthcare costs, which can sometimes be as high as 90%.

Legislators are also contemplating establishing a limit on federal spending per Medicaid enrollee, although this proposal seems to be garnering less political backing.

The CBO estimated that although these reforms would yield billions in cost reductions, they would also lead to approximately 10 million individuals losing their Medicaid coverage.

They appear to have been definitively excluded from consideration.

However, Republicans are still considering other proposed Medicaid reforms, such as implementing stricter controls on state taxes levied on healthcare providers, which lead to increased federal government reimbursements. While this measure could yield billions in savings, the report indicates it might also lead to approximately 8 million individuals losing their healthcare coverage.