John Wilkerson is a Washington correspondent for STAT who writes about the politics of health care. He is also the author of the twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter .

Daniel Payne reports on how the health industry and Washington influence and impact each other. He joined STAT in 2025 after covering health care at POLITICO. You can reach Daniel on Signal at danielp.100.

Senate Republicans unveiled late Friday changes to health care policies in tax legislation that they made to win over holdouts in their party and pass muster with budget rules.

The changes were made public around midnight, and the long voting process for the bill could start on Saturday. Republicans are using a budget process called reconciliation that allows them to pass the bill without Democratic support. But there is a special process for voting on budget reconciliation bills that can take days to get through.

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Lawmakers’ votes and amendments over the coming days could change the landscape for patients and health care providers who rely on Medicaid, with millions expected to lose coverage and huge cuts to federal funding that otherwise would have gone to hospitals and other providers, according to CBO estimates.