WASHINGTON – House Republicans defended a bill that would enact sweeping tax cuts, raise the debt ceiling, and add restrictions to benefit programs during a heated marathon day of committee hearings on Capitol Hill.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the proposed changes would reduce healthcare coverage for 8.6 million people over the next decade. Specifically, the Medicaid portions of the Republican 'megabill' would result in 10.

Three key panels are addressing some of the thorniest issues poised to make or break the Republicans' massive bill for Trump's agenda.

House Republicans unveiled legislation earlier this week that included at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks provided in Trump’s bill. However, slashing Medicaid is deeply unpopular with voters across the political spectrum, said CNN data guru Harry Enten.

Trump administration officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., made their case for imposing new work requirements for Medicaid and other safety net programs in a Wednesday New York Times essay.

Fiscal hawks are lashing out over what they say are the lack of Medicaid reforms in President Trump’s legislative package, which could thwart the House GOP’s goal of passing the legislation next

The order is based on a "most favored nation" pricing model, which is similar to a policy Trump pushed in his first administration.

President Donald Trump's new health care initiative aims to reduce prescription drug costs by targeting pharmacy benefit managers, commonly known as PBMs.