CNN’s Bash to GOP Rep. Lawler: What Did Trump Say to You to Convince You to Get to Yes When Voting for the BBB?

BASH: “In just a few hours, President Trump will sign his agenda mega bill into law. To make that happen, the president had to convince some Republicans who were on the fence. Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York was one of those GOP members, and he is still here now. Thank you so much for being here. So, you were at the White House Wednesday for a last-minute meeting with the President Trump, other advisers. What did they say to you to convince you to get to yes?”

LAWLER: “I was already a yes, but the conversation was centered around Medicaid. And one of the things that I wanted to focus in on was this rural health fund and how we’ll be able to access it to help our hospitals throughout my district and certainly across New York. New York’s hospital system is heavily reliant on Medicaid and Medicare. In my district, I have two safety net hospitals, for instance, where 85 percent of their revenue comes from Medicaid and Medicare. So, understanding how that was going to function.”

BASH: “What did they tell you that made you feel so good about rural hospitals?”

LAWLER: “Well, look, it’s a $50 billion fund to help support our rural hospital system, as well as safety net hospitals, and so that’s something that we’re going to be working through. But this is — this is a challenge, by the way, in New York that has been persistent. I can tell you, having been in the state legislature, our hospitals are constantly working to get more resources from the state, and the state has significant challenges with how they fund our hospital system. So that’s something long-term, we need to evaluate as Republicans and Democrats, how we support our hospital systems across the country.”

BASH: “So, I don’t need to tell you, you are one of only three Republican lawmakers representing districts that Kamala Harris won. Just pretty remarkable that that’s the political map right now. One is Don Bacon. He voted yes, but he’s retiring. The other is Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. He voted no on the bill. And what he said is that the Senate amendments to Medicaid, which is part of the bill that you voted for, and other provisions make it fall short of the standard he holds for his constituents. Do you have a different standard?”

LAWLER: “No. Look, Brian and I work very closely together, and throughout this process, we fought back against efforts, for instance, to change FMAP to lower the federal share. There were people who wanted to bring it to 45 percent, below the 50 percent threshold. We fought back and stopped that. They wanted dish cuts, they wanted per capita caps, block grants. We were able to prevent that. The changes that the Senate did put in place phase in, starting in 2028 specifically on provider tax and on state-directed payments. On the provider tax, New York is at 4.7 percent provider tax. That won’t change until 2031. So, New York is going to have five years to really start to get its fiscal house in order. New York is a state where they spend 83 percent more on Medicaid than the average of the other 49 states. So, New York has to evaluate how it does business. You look at the state-directed payments. The Biden Administration changed the rules on state-directed payments and allowed Medicaid payouts to be higher than Medicare. Prior to that, that was not the case. It was one to one. So, this is going back to that one-to-one ratio, which the phase out will start in 2028 and it will be a 10 percent phase out until it gets back to the one-to-one ratio across the country. But at the end of the day, the changes to Medicaid are common sense reforms, eligibility verification, making sure that people who are ineligible do not remain on the system, taking away from the very people who need it within the IDD community, our seniors, our children, single mothers. Secondarily is citizenship verification. Making sure that illegal immigrants are not collecting Medicaid benefits. There’s about 1.4 million and New York has spent billions of dollars of taxpayer money to provide Medicaid to illegal immigrants. And finally, work requirements. Most Americans agree that if you are able-bodied, without dependents, and you are collecting benefits, you should be trying to work. You should be trying to get an education or volunteer, get into the workplace and help yourself as you — as you advance forward. Most people recognize that that is a common-sense reform. That is the crux of what is in the bill.”