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GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Clash Over Medicaid Cuts and Budget Deficit
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Clash Over Medicaid Cuts and Budget Deficit

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Nine Republican candidates for next year’s gubernatorial election participated in a debate Thursday night hosted by the Denver Press Club, where they faced questions on issues like the budget, cost of living, and Medicaid from moderators Marianne Goodland and Ernest Luning of Colorado Politics. Those candidates were: Sen. Mark Baisley of Roxborough Park, an engineer who was elected to the State Legislature in 2018 Bob Brinkerhoff, a retired State Trooper Jason Clark, an Army veteran from Centennial on his third run for governor Jon Gray-Ginsberg, an IT professional and cybersecurity specialist from Frisco Joshua Griffin, a former Colorado State University football player and Army veteran Kelvin “K-Man” Wimberly, an Oklahoma ...
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Report: ABC Inflates Medicaid “Crisis” to Support Democrat Spending Push
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The Daily Signal, Approved, Commentary, National

Report: ABC Inflates Medicaid “Crisis” to Support Democrat Spending Push

By Jay Greene | Commentary, The Daily Signal The federal government is shut down, at least in part, because Democrats are attempting to reverse Medicaid spending cuts that were enacted earlier this year as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Democrats are refusing to support a continuing resolution that would keep funding the government unless it restores those cuts.  ABC News is determined to help the Democrats make their case for reversing Medicaid cuts even at the expense of whatever journalistic credibility they have remaining. To wit, “Good Morning America” aired a story by senior White House correspondent, Selina Wang, about “looming Medicaid cuts threatening ...
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GOP Warns Democrats’ Budget Plan Redirects Billions to Noncitizens
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Just The News, Approved, National

GOP Warns Democrats’ Budget Plan Redirects Billions to Noncitizens

By Amanda Head | Just the News The Democrats' own proposal seeks to repeal the section of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that ends healthcare for aliens. At midnight Tuesday, the government shut down. Prior to the deadline, Republicans passed their budget proposal out of the House of Representatives, but Senate Democrats, along with Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, shot it down, 55-45.  While Republicans have branded this the "Schumer Shutdown," blame-slinging began months ago when negotiations commenced to avert the budget showdown.  The clarity of Democrats' desire to give illegal immigrants free healthcare is abundant, as evidenced by every single Democratic nominee eagerly raising their hand in support of the policy at the June 2019 ...
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Summer school session: Lawmakers flunk budget basics—less tax revenue and more deficits to come
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denvergazette.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Summer school session: Lawmakers flunk budget basics—less tax revenue and more deficits to come

By Gazette editorial board | Commentary, Denver Gazette Like slacker students who flunked a course and had to make it up in summer school, Colorado state lawmakers who were summoned back to the Capitol last month — to patch a gaping hole in the current state budget — knew they had gathered under a stigma. Convened by Gov. Jared Polis, they sullenly filed into the building with their heads down. It was nothing to be proud of. And when they had wrapped up the session days later, there was little to celebrate. They knew they were doing makeup work, atoning for their behavior during the regular session — and the session before that, and the one before that. And while they tried to blame Colorado’s fiscal straits on some of the other kids in class — the president and the Republican Con...
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State Budget Growth Cap Leaves Colorado With Tough Choices Ahead
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State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

State Budget Growth Cap Leaves Colorado With Tough Choices Ahead

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Providing the same level of government programs and services next fiscal year is predicted to cost $850 million more than the legislature will have available to spend. It’s one state budget crisis after another.  That’s the takeaway from quarterly economic and tax revenue forecasts presented Monday to the Colorado legislature by nonpartisan Capitol staff and the governor’s office.  The General Assembly just wrapped up a special session to plug a roughly $750 million hole in the state’s current budget caused by tax code changes made through congressional Republicans’ tax and spending bill, which was passed and signed into law in July. But more trouble is on the horizon in the form of what’s referred to as Colorado’s structural...
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RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz unveil $50B plan to transform collapsing rural health care
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USA Today, Approved, Commentary, National

RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz unveil $50B plan to transform collapsing rural health care

By Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz | Commentary, USA Today Rural America deserves a health care system built for reality, not one that's made up of urban leftovers that leave rural health care needs as an afterthought. Despite higher rates of chronic disease in rural areas vs. their urban counterparts, rural America's health care infrastructure is collapsing. Since 2010, about 150 rural hospitals have closed or been converted to other facilities, and fewer than 4 in 10 rural hospital beds are typically occupied – substantially less than urban areas. Rather than repeating the mistakes of the past, President Donald Trump's administration will deliver unprecedented investments to rebuild rural health care infrastructure and address the root cause...
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Feds launch investigation into Colorado’s healthcare spending on illegal immigrants
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Feds launch investigation into Colorado’s healthcare spending on illegal immigrants

By Brandon Richard | Denver7 Denver7 took a closer look at the investigations, which critics call politically-charged and baseless. DENVER — The Trump administration and now Congress have launched investigations into Colorado’s spending on health care for undocumented immigrants. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it was increasing oversight of states that misuse federal Medicaid funds to provide healthcare coverage to undocumented immigrants. “Medicaid is not, and cannot be, a backdoor pathway to subsidize open borders,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “States have a duty to uphold the law and protect taxpayer funds. We are putting them on notice — CMS will not allow federal dollars to be diverted to cove...
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Polis Budget Cuts Threaten Health Care Access for Medicaid Patients
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Polis Budget Cuts Threaten Health Care Access for Medicaid Patients

By Brandon Richard | Denver7 Gov. Jared Polis says the cuts helped rebalance the state budget after Congress passed President Trump's tax bill DENVER — Coloradans may be forced to pay more and wait longer for health care treatment due to some of the budget cuts Gov. Jared Polis announced this week. Polis said the cuts were necessary to help rebalance the state budget after a Republican federal tax and spending bill, H.R.1. (One Big Beautiful Bill Act), reduced the state’s revenue and created a $783 million budget gap. "Unlike the federal government, we have to balance our budget,” Polis said. The governor made more than $250 million in cuts and redirected spending across departments. "What H.R.1 does in a way is it makes these cuts, and then it makes states be the bad guy...
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Polis Orders $252 Million in Cuts After Years of Overspending Strain State Finances
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State, Approved, The Gazette

Polis Orders $252 Million in Cuts After Years of Overspending Strain State Finances

By Marianne Goodland | The Gazette Lawmakers balk at some cuts, particularly reductions to health care provider rates. Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed an executive order, initiating the process to cut $252.5 million in cash and general funds from this year's budget, with the most significant impact on the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which administers Medicaid. Polis also signed into law a measure from the recently concluded special session that requires him to meet with the Joint Budget Committee to review the spending reduction plan.  That meeting was often tense, with the legislators who craft the state budget indicating they aren't going along with some of his cuts, particularly for Medicaid providers. Policymakers said the actions taken durin...
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Colorado Lawmakers Hand Polis Authority for $300 Million in Spending Cuts
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State, Approved, DENVER7

Colorado Lawmakers Hand Polis Authority for $300 Million in Spending Cuts

By Brandon Richard | Denver7 The governor could make up to $300 million in spending cuts as part of the Democrats' plan to fix the budget gap. DENVER — Colorado’s special session is over, but there’s still more work to do to address the state’s $783 million budget gap. Most of that work will fall to Governor Jared Polis. Colorado’s Democratic legislative leaders have a three-part plan to address the budget gap. They took care of one part of that plan during their six-day special session when they cut several corporate tax breaks. "I'm grateful my colleagues didn't shy away from this challenge,” said Senate President James Coleman, D-Denver. “We faced it head-on. We rolled up our sleeves. We acted like the adults in the room." But they’re leaving the other two parts of...
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