The American Hospital Association (AHA) may be the only trade group in Washington that is lobbying against a proposed tax cut for their members. Congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act is undergoing late revisions ahead of the Senate’s self-imposed July 4th deadline. A particularly contentious area involves provider taxes: obscure levies raised against hospitals, nursing homes and other medical offices. On the face of it, cutting those taxes sounds like good news for hospitals. But the levies are a financing gimmick used to fund Medicaid, a health programme for the poor, and for funnelling money to hospitals. The AHA’s president warns the tax cuts are so severe they could close rural hospitals.