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May 2025

ashoup
In News

SHOT/CHASER/LIME: Voters Hate the GOP Tax Scam, but Republicans Voted for It Anyway

Republicans Have Touched The Third Rail of Health Care, Voters Will Deliver Shock At The Ballot Box

SHOT: House Passes Trump’s Reconciliation Bill After Shoving in Larger Medicaid Cuts at Last Minute. “The massive reconciliation package — which already included massive cuts to Medicaid and the popular food assistance program SNAP, as well as tax cuts that will largely benefit wealthy Americans — got a makeover on Wednesday largely to appease the far-right members who were threatening to sink the bill. Notably, leadership made substantial changes to the Medicaid portion of the bill overnight.” [Talking Points Memo, 05/22/25]

CHASER: The Republican Budget Is Unpopular. 66 percent of Americans oppose the budget that House Republicans just passed, including 39 percent of independent voters. [Navigator, 05/22/25]

LIME: Medicaid Is Overwhelmingly Popular With the American People. 75 percent of Americans support Medicaid, including 64 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of independents. [Navigator, 05/22/25] 

ashoup
In News

STATEMENT: House Republicans Shamelessly Dismantle Health Care For Millions in Early Morning Vote to Fund Tax Breaks for the Wealthy

Washington, D.C. – Early this morning, House Republicans voted to pass their budget bill despite widespread opposition from the American people. This bill will rip health care away from millions of American seniors, children, middle- and low-income families, people with disabilities, people fighting cancer, and so many more. Not only does this bill include the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, it eliminates health care for millions of Americans who get coverage through the ACA by, among other things, failing to extend enhanced premium tax credits. This Republican bill will increase costs and make health care unaffordable and inaccessible for more middle- and low-income families. It’s a scam that robs everyday Americans of their health care and financial stability in order for Republicans to give massive tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy and large corporations.

Nearly 14 million Americans are already expected to lose health care because of this bill, but with Republicans’ last-minute changes, the number of hardworking Americans who will lose their coverage and care as a result will likely grow by millions more. 

In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump and Republicans are waging their war on health care in full force. They jammed this bill through the House, debating and passing almost every component in the middle of the night, hoping the American people wouldn’t see exactly what they are doing. But when millions lose their health care, when premiums and copays rise, when parents are kicked out of nursing homes, and when children with disabilities are stripped of the support they need, the American people will know that Republicans chose billionaires over them. Voters will remember and hold these shameless lawmakers accountable at the ballot box for years to come. Now it’s on Republicans in the Senate to prove where they stand: with billionaires or with everyday Americans.”

ashoup
In News

ROUNDUP: The Republican Budget Quietly Guts the ACA – and It’s Worse Than You Think

As Republicans push forward with their budget, it has become increasingly clear that their only goal is to rip health care away from millions of Americans in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations. And Republicans aren’t just gutting Medicaid to pass their billionaire tax breaks – They’re taking an axe to the Affordable Care Act and the health care that millions purchase on their own through ACA marketplaces. This Republican budget includes new rules designed to make it nearly impossible for middle-class families to access affordable coverage through the ACA. And when coupled with their plan to eliminate premium tax credits and slash nearly $700 billion from the ACA, Republicans will drive up costs and rip coverage away from millions of Americans. 

Beyond their cuts to Medicaid, Republicans have included in this bill more than 30 provisions that raise premiums, limit eligibility, and heap red tape and bureaucracy on working Americans trying to access health care. These “savings” Republicans are using to fund tax breaks for the wealthy will come from increasing taxes, blocking eligible people from getting coverage, and forcing everyday Americans to pay more for health care. With this bill, Republicans will finally deliver on their long-standing goal of dismantling the ACA, ripping health care from millions of Americans in the process.

It’s Not Just Medicaid: This Republican Bill Quietly Dismantles the ACA:

KFF: The Spotlight Is on Medicaid Cuts, But the ACA Marketplaces Could See a One-Third Cut in Enrollment.

  • “[T]he expiration of the enhanced ACA tax credits… will reduce Marketplace enrollment by 4.4 million, according to Trump Administration estimates. Then add provisions from the House reconciliation bill, which will adopt Trump administration regulations, reducing enrollment by another 2.2 million, according to CBO… Add all that up and it’s easy to see why many Marketplaces believe they are facing a one-third drop in enrollment (about 8 million of the 24 million currently covered, if extrapolated nationally), once all these changes would be in place.”

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: House Republicans’ Shockingly Harmful Agenda Is Now Crystal Clear – the Country Deserves Better

  • “At least 13.7 million people would lose health coverage and become uninsured under the House Republicans’ Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplace agenda that deeply cuts Medicaid, erects new barriers to coverage, and allows the enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) that help low- and middle-income families and small business owners afford health coverage to expire, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates.”

CHIRBlog: Death by Slow Strangulation: New Tactics in Longstanding Efforts to Repeal the Affordable Care Act.

  • “The massive reconciliation bill pending before Congress includes numerous provisions that will lead to millions losing ACA insurance coverage, and increased paperwork and higher costs for those who try to remain insured… The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has broken down the coverage losses between 2025 and 2034 as follows: 7.7 million more people uninsured from the Medicaid cuts in the Energy & Commerce Committee’s reconciliation bill; 1.8 million more people uninsured from adoption of the Marketplace Integrity rule (also in the House reconciliation bill); 4.2 million more people uninsured if Congress fails to extend the enhanced premium tax credits… it is evident that the overall result will be an unprecedented loss of insurance coverage for millions of Americans, causing the nation’s uninsured rate to increase by an estimated 30 percent.”

KFF: Potential Impacts of 2025 Budget Reconciliation on Health Coverage for Immigrant Families.

  • “Some states have established fully state-funded programs to fill these gaps in coverage for immigrants. A proposed provision in the Energy and Commerce bill would penalize states that offer this coverage by reducing their federal Medicaid match rate for the ACA expansion population from 90% to 80%…. [around] 1.4 million more people would become uninsured by 2034 and… [there would be an] $11 billion reduction in the federal deficit between 2025 and 2034 as a result of this provision.”
  • “In May 2024, the Biden administration published new regulations that extended Marketplace eligibility to DACA recipients effective November 2024, which it estimated would extend coverage to about 100,000 uninsured DACA recipients, who are mostly working adults without access to an affordable health coverage option… [the bill would make] DACA recipients ineligible to purchase ACA Marketplace coverage and to receive premium tax credits or cost sharing reductions to help pay for coverage effective January 2026.”

Politico: Letting Affordable Care Act subsidies expire would lead to millions losing coverage.

  • “Millions of people would lose health insurance if congressional Republicans let a policy expire intended to lower the out-of-pocket costs of Affordable Care Act plans, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate released Friday… the CBO analysis [finds premium subsidy cuts]… would result in close to 4 million fewer people having health insurance.”
  • “This latest CBO report follows Democrats’ release of another set of CBO findings from earlier in the week showing that a Trump administration proposal aimed at reducing improper Medicaid enrollments would decrease the federal deficit by $210 billion over a decade — and lead to 1.9 million more uninsured people.”

Targeting Kids, Seniors, People with Disabilities and More, This Bill Will Blow Up Uninsured Rates and Everyday Americans’ Health Insurance:

KFF: How Will the 2025 Reconciliation Bill Affect the Uninsured Rate in Each State?

  • “The biggest increase in uninsured by percentage point is in DC (5 percentage points), which also has expanded Medicaid eligibility up to 215% of poverty. 10 states and DC would have increases in their uninsured rates of 3 percentage points or more (DC, Washington, Oregon, Kentucky, New York, Louisiana, New Mexico, Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island, and California). In terms of increases in the number of uninsured people, California and New York are the top two states (1.4M and 810k, respectively). Florida, Illinois, and Texas would follow at 520K, 430k, and 430k, respectively.”
  • “The combined effects of the House Reconciliation package with the expiration of the ACA enhanced tax credits, compared to a scenario where the enhanced subsidies are in place and the proposed integrity rule was not in effect, results in the greatest increases in Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington, where the uninsured rate is expected to increase by at least 5 percentage points. 30 states and the District of Columbia may see an increase in their uninsured rates of 3 percentage points or more. About half (46%) of the 13.7 million more people who would be uninsured in this scenario live in Florida (1.8M), Texas (1.6M), California (1.5M), New York (800k), and Georgia (610k). Texas (2.8M Marketplace growth), Florida (2.8M) and Georgia (1.0M) experienced the most ACA Marketplace growth since 2020, the year before the enhanced premium tax credits became available.”

Unidos: The Medicaid cuts proposed in budget reconciliation would be the largest in U.S. history.

  • “The $70 billion average annual Medicaid cut under the current legislation would be more than 10 times the size of the largest previous cut, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005’s average annual reduction of $5.8 billion in March 2025 dollars.”
  • “The current bill’s 9.6% drop in projected Medicaid spending would be roughly twice  the size of the largest previous percentage drop that resulted from two sequential budget reconciliation bills added together—namely, the 5.0% Medicaid spending reduction that resulted from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Acts (OBRA) of 1981 and 1982. According to the Reagan Administration’s official evaluation, the latter legislation caused a 13% drop in total Medicaid coverage. ”

Manatt Health: No Place to Hide: Children Will Be Hurt by Medicaid Cuts.

  • “Ending the enhanced matching rate would have a pronounced impact on every state with Medicaid expansion. States would lose $836 billion of their federal funding for this group over the next ten years… States that are not able to replace the lost funding, or which have “trigger laws” that end the expansion in the event that the 90% match rate is repealed, would drop the expansion group. If all states eliminated their expansion groups, nationwide average annual enrollment would decline by 22 million…”
  • “If all Medicaid expansion states eliminate coverage for expansion adults, annual child enrollment in expansion states could drop by an estimated 773,000 children.”

Georgetown University: Medicaid Work Requirements Could Threaten Parents’ and Children’s Coverage and Well-Being.

  • “In Arkansas and New Hampshire, which briefly began implementing work requirements in 2018 and 2019, respectively, the vast majority of people who could maintain their enrollment were identified as exempt or compliant by the state using available data. But most people who were not automatically deemed exempt or compliant lost coverage or were at risk of losing coverage despite working or potentially qualifying for an exemption. Studies found that many people did not satisfy the work reporting requirement because of factors like lack of awareness, confusion about the policy, and difficulties navigating reporting systems. Under the House Energy and Commerce Committee proposal, states are only required, where possible, to automate verification processes for work or work activities, but they are not required to implement automatic exemptions, including for parents.”
  • “Work requirements would not help families make ends meet amid other threats to their health and well-being: prior studies assessing the effects of Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas found that they increased uninsurance with no improvement in employment… The Medicaid work requirement provisions in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s proposal also would not provide any new funding for job training or job search programs or ameliorate other barriers to work that parents face, such as lack of transportation or difficulties finding affordable and high-quality child care.”

Urban Institute: Expanding Federal Work Requirements for Medicaid Expansion Coverage to Age 64 Would Increase Coverage Losses.

  • “About 1.8 million more adults would be subject to work requirements that apply up to age 64 compared with work requirements that apply up to age 55. We project that an additional 1 million adults would lose federally funded Medicaid coverage in 2026 under work requirements that extend up to age 64 (5.5 to 6.3 million under a policy that extends to age 64 versus 4.6 to 5.2 million under a policy that extends to age 55).”
  • “Whether work requirements extend to age 55 or age 64, at least 10,000 adults in almost every Medicaid expansion state would lose coverage, with variation across states reflecting the number and composition of expansion enrollees. Under work requirements that apply up to age 64, 17 states would see coverage losses of more than 100,000—up from 13 states under a policy that extends to age 55.”

Center for American Progress: Federal Medicaid Cuts Would Force States To Eliminate Services for Disabled Adults, Older Adults, and Children.

  • “states would be prohibited from creating new or increasing existing taxes on health care providers to help finance their share of Medicaid program costs, making it more difficult for states to sustain Medicaid. As a result, states would have to look at three different strategies: raising taxes, limiting coverage, or reducing or eliminating vital benefits that are not explicitly required by federal law. Services that could be cut include home- and community-based services (HCBS), physical therapy, and speech therapy. These services are often critical for people with disabilities and older adults, who would be among the first and hardest hit by such cuts.”
  • “People in the United States pay an average of $1,564 for pharmaceutical drugs per year. Without Medicaid covering these medications, many people will have to pay for their drugs out of pocket or forgo potentially necessary medicines altogether, resulting in poorer health outcomes.”
  • “Medicaid is required to cover [outpatient services such as physical therapy; occupational therapy; speech, hearing, and language disorder services; tuberculosis-related services services for children under age 21]. If states decide not to cover these services under Medicaid for adults, people may end up having worse health outcomes from significant injuries or illnesses.”

PNHP: GOP Medicaid Cuts: Multifaceted, Severe, Deadly, Machiavellian.

  • “House Republicans’ radical new budget plan proposes requiring states to implement Medicaid work reporting requirements for adults enrolled through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion… Evidence from prior state-level implementations show that bureaucratic paperwork requirements do not increase employment but do result in large-scale coverage losses—even among those who are working or should be exempt from the requirements.”
ashoup
In News

HEADLINES: Republicans Make Budget Bill Worse for Everyday Americans, Setting Off the Biggest Transfer of Wealth in History

As House Republicans try to ram their budget bill through the Rules Committee and the House floor today, national reporting highlights how this bill will bring about the largest transfer of wealth, from the poorest Americans to the wealthiest, in the history of this country. As Republicans hold hearings in the middle of the night, meet behind closed doors, and scramble to negotiate massive provisions, they seem to add even worse policies every hour. So-called Republican moderates are increasingly silent as Republicans plan to rip health care from even more seniors, children, and hardworking Americans and insert provisions that could trigger as many as nine states to end Medicaid expansion entirely. It has become increasingly clear that Republicans’ only goal is further lining the pockets of the richest Americans and corporations – even by ripping health care and basic resources from millions of working families. 

Washington Post: Trump and GOP’s Tax Bill Would Force Cuts to Medicare, CBO Says.

  • “Any cut in Medicare funding, economists say, would have a chilling effect on older Americans and people with disabilities at a time when a fast-aging population and rising health care costs are already straining the system. Many hospitals, especially in rural areas, rely on Medicare for more than half of their funding, said McBride of Washington University.”
  • “Republicans are also proposing sweeping cuts to Medicaid that could leave nearly 9 million people without health care coverage and more than 7 million without insurance over 10 years. Those cuts are likely to put added strain on Medicare funding, Roberts said, particularly for the 13 million Americans who are enrolled in both programs and rely on Medicaid to cover Medicare premiums and co-pays.”

Politico: GOP Megabill to Save Congress Nearly $800 Billion — While Kicking Millions of People off Health Insurance.

  • “A draft portion of the House GOP’s party-line megabill would lead to nearly $800 billion in savings over 10 years — but would lead to 8.6 million more people losing their health insurance at the same time, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday.”
  • “‘Trump and Republicans have been lying when they claim they aren’t going to cut Medicaid and take away people’s health care,’ ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said last week. ‘This is not trimming fat from around the edges — it’s cutting to the bone.’”

Politico: Wealthy Gain, Low-Income People Lose From GOP Megabill, Analysis Finds.

  • “Tax cuts in House Republicans’ megabill would lead to increased assets for the richest Americans, while reducing them for the lowest-income households through cuts to federal spending on Medicaid and food aid, according to a new preliminary analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.”
  • “But the top 10 percent of households would see their household resources rise 4 percent by 2027 and 2 percent in 2033, ‘mainly because of reductions in the taxes they owe,’ CBO said.”

Washington Post: Divided House GOP Tries to Push Trump’s Tax Bill Over the Finish Line.

  • “The bill would extend tax cuts that Trump signed into law in 2017 that are otherwise due to expire at the end of this year, along with new changes to reflect Trump’s campaign promises — such as no taxes on tips and overtime wages — and would spend hundreds of billions of dollars on border security, the White House’s mass deportation campaign and funding for defense priorities and a ‘Golden Dome’ continental missile defense system. The Congressional Budget Office, lawmakers’ nonpartisan scorekeeper, projects that it will add $2.3 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. The national debt already exceeds $36.2 trillion. Hard-line conservatives said Tuesday that the legislation did not sufficiently cut spending to pair with trillions of dollars of new tax cuts or extensions of current rates, and they angled for deeper budget reductions to Medicaid and federal benefits programs.”

Bloomberg: Opinion: The GOP Tax Bill Ignores Decades of Economic Research.

  • “The budget bill that Republicans are currently trying to push through the House includes steep cuts to the two largest programs that help low-income Americans: Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Part of the rationale for these reductions, aside from making space for tax cuts, seems to be that using public money to help low-income people is wasteful and inefficient.”
  • “Now consider that the House budget bill will result in an estimated 10 million Americans losing Medicaid. Whether you care about the people themselves or how their fate will affect the economy, the result is needless loss.”

The New Republic: Republican Budget Bill Will Tear Apart Medicare as We Know It.

  • “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report Tuesday finding that the GOP’s budget bill would automatically trigger over $500 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare, exposing President Trump for lying that Medicare wouldn’t be touched. The CBO estimates that there would be about $45 billion in cuts in 2026, and $490 billion in cuts between 2027 and 2034.”
  • “In March, Trump promised that there would be no cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security, with the White House even issuing a fact sheet attacking media reports that he and Elon Musk were open to such cuts. Now, though, the Republican budget bill includes $880 billion in cuts, largely to Medicaid, and Tuesday’s revelation confirms that Medicare cuts will be automatically triggered if the bill passes.”

Rolling Stone: ‘Intentionally Hiding’: GOP Tries to Sneak Through Medicaid Cuts in Dead of Night.

  • “The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would make permanent President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which were a boon to the wealthiest earners in the nation. In order to pay for those cuts, the GOP plans to kick millions of people off of Medicaid, food assistance, and other critical social safety net programs.”
  • “‘It’s just over 100 days you guys have gone from promising to lower costs to ripping away people’s health care. Of course you don’t want anybody to know what you’re doing here,’ Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said around 1:30 a.m. ‘It’s because you know this bill betrays the people who voted for you.’”
  • “The analysis also found that changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would lead to a significant drop in household resources for the lowest 10 percent of incomes over the next decade. The Republican bill would also result in around $500 million in cuts to Medicare, according to the new analysis.”

Bloomberg: Opinion: Yes, the GOP Bill Is Big. Beautiful, Not So Much.

  • “The biggest single source of these Medicaid cuts is a decree that states require Medicaid recipients who are “able bodied adults without dependents” to put in at least 80 hours a month of work, community service, training, education or some combination thereof, which the CBO estimates will save $280 billion over 10 years. The House is now talking about speeding up its timetable for requiring states to do this, which would boost that number.”
  • “These savings would be achieved by reducing the number of people who qualify for Medicaid coverage, and the evidence from an experiment with work requirements in Arkansas is that many of these will be people who have jobs or other responsibilities that meet the criteria but are unable to leap the bureaucratic hurdles to prove it (coverage losses were especially high, for example, among those without home internet).”
  • “The legislation also prohibits federal financial participation in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage for those “without verified citizenship, nationality, or immigration status,” but this is expected to generate negligible savings (less than $1 billion over 10 years) because participation is already limited to “lawfully present immigrants,” although some states offer coverage for other immigrants out of their own funds.”
ashoup
In News

IT’S GETTING WORSE: CBO Confirms Republican Budget Bill Will Make the Rich Even Richer By Ripping Health Care and Basic Resources Away From Working Families

Washington, D.C. — The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has released new analysis on the Republican budget bill which confirmed the bill will be the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in American history. It takes away from working Americans while increasing the assets of the wealthiest Americans — by ripping health care and basic resources from millions. And yet, as House Republicans look to advance this bill through the Rules Committee, the legislation is only going to get more devastating for everyday Americans. 

“CBO has confirmed what we’ve been saying all along — Republicans want to take health care from millions of seniors, children, people fighting cancer or addiction, and working families so they can give tax breaks to billionaires and massive corporations,” said Protect Our Care President Brad Woodhouse. “The bill gets worse by the minute. It was bad from the start, but every day, the Republicans find new ways to upend health care for hardworking families in order to dole out more tax breaks to the wealthy. Despite their false promises and empty rhetoric, even so-called Republican moderates have repeatedly failed to protect health care for their constituents. Millions of Americans will lose their coverage and care, costs will skyrocket, hospitals will close, seniors will be thrown out of nursing homes, and American health care will never be the same.”

ashoup
In News

TODAY: Lawmakers, Advocates Join Protect Our Care Across The Country While Republicans Slash Health Care To Fund Billionaire Tax Breaks

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MAY 21, 2025***

Protect Our Care Holds Events In Five States Featuring Representatives Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5), Wesley Bell (MO-1), Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis (PA), And Advocates

Today, Protect Our Care is holding events across the country to call out Republicans’ budget bill which slashes billions from Medicaid and the ACA. The bill rips health care away from millions of Americans, so Trump and the GOP can fund tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations. Right now, the Rules Committee is debating the legislation with amendments expected to make the devastation of our health care system even worse. Republicans’ Medicaid cuts will take lifesaving care away from children, seniors, people fighting addiction or cancer, and so many more. At the same time, they’re targeting key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and taking away tax credits, which will cause premiums to skyrocket for middle-class families. Republicans’ bill will throw millions of Americans off their health care, raise costs, force hospitals to close, push seniors out of nursing homes, and make health care unaffordable and inaccessible for millions of working families – all so Trump and his Republican allies can give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations.

PENNSYLVANIA

WHO:
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis
Former Rep. Conor Lamb
Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans
Pennsylvanians affected by Medicaid cuts

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHERE: RSVP here (Registration required)

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 10:30 AM ET

VIRGINIA

WHO:
Cardboard Kiggans
Affordable Virginia
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
Protect Our Care Virginia
SEIU Virginia 512
Virginia Organizing
Impacted Constituents

WHAT: Protect Medicaid Rally

WHERE: 283 Constitution Dr., Virginia Beach, VA 23462

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 11 AM ET

MISSOURI

WHO:
Representative Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5)
Representative Wesley Bell (MO-1)
McClain Bryant Macklin, Vice President, Policy and Impact, Health Forward Foundation
Dan Cranshaw, Executive Director, KC Health Collaborative
Wil Franklin, CEO, KC Care Health Center

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHERE: RSVP Here (Registration required)

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 10:30 AM CT // 11:30 AM ET

IOWA

WHO:
Abby Butler, SEIU leader and nurse
Nancy Halls, cancer survivor
Dr. Tim Blair, a retired rural physician
Anne Discher, Common Good Iowa Executive Director
Amy Adams, Protect Our Care Iowa Director

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHERE: RSVP Here (Registration required)

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 11 AM CT // 12 PM ET

ALASKA

WHO:
Alaska health care advocates, patients, families, and concerned community members

WHAT: Protect Medicaid Rally

WHERE: Office of Representative Nick Begich, 1016 W. 6th Ave, Anchorage

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 4 PM AKT // 8 PM ET

RSVP: Here

ashoup
In News

Trump’s War on Health Care: Public Health Watch

“I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.” – HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Welcome to Public Health Watch, a weekly roundup from Protect Our Care tracking catastrophic activity as part of Donald Trump’s sweeping war on health care. From installing anti-vaccine zealot RFK Jr. as Secretary of HHS to empowering Elon Musk to make indiscriminate cuts to our public health infrastructure, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, Donald Trump is endangering the lives of millions of Americans. Protect Our Care’s Public Health Watch will shine a spotlight on the worst of the Trump/RFK/Musk war on vaccines, science and public health and serve as a resource for the press, public and advocacy groups to hold them accountable. 

What’s Happening In Public Health?

Catastrophic Cuts Are Creating Chaos And Endangering Americans’ Health And Scientific Innovation

HuffPost: RFK Jr. Insists He Hasn’t Fired ‘Any Working Scientists’ ― After Firing Hundreds Of Them During a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) had a strange clash with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the massive cuts he’s overseen at his agency, including to personnel. “You made it very clear here today you have no knowledge whatsoever of the absolutely amazing scientists and researchers who you have callously fired,” said Alsobrooks. “I didn’t fire any working scientists,” Kennedy said. “That, sir, is not true either,” replied Alsobrooks. “It is true,” repeated Kennedy. “It is not true,” Alsobrooks said, moving on. He made the same claim when the Maryland senator later brought up a 30-year program he axed at his agency, the Safe to Sleep campaign, along with all of its staff. He said it again to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the chairman of the committee, at the start of the hearing. “The cuts we have made to date are administrative cuts. As far as I know we have not fired any working scientists,” said Kennedy. “There are some people who were scientists that were doing IT or administration … who did lose their jobs. But in terms of working scientists, our policy was to make sure none of them were lost and that that research continues.” That sounds nice. But also it is not true. Kennedy has been firing hundreds, if not thousands, of scientists and researchers doing critical work at various agencies under HHS. It’s not even as if he’s been doing this in secret; it’s been widely reported for months.

New York Times: Kennedy, Defending Downsizing, Clashes With Democrats in Tense Hearings Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a defiant defense on Wednesday of his drastic overhaul of federal health agencies, insisting to members of Congress that he had “not fired any working scientists” and was “not withholding money for lifesaving research” despite evidence to the contrary.

CNN: Trump administration cut $2.7 billion in NIH research funding through March, Senate committee minority report says A Senate committee report by minority staff, and obtained by CNN, slams the Trump administration for terminating some funding for research, firing thousands of federal workers and removing certain scientific data from government websites. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s minority staff report, released Tuesday and authored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, says that in the first three months of this year, the Trump administration cut $2.7 billion in National Institutes of Health funding for research. That figure is much higher than some separate estimates that previously suggested targeted grant terminations have affected more than $1.8 billion in NIH funding. The new report, which describes the Trump administration’s actions as a “war on science,” is based on analyses conducted by Senate HELP Committee minority Staff, involving NIH grant funding data as well as HHS self-reported spreadsheets and other sources.

  • Agence France Presse: Trump slashed US cancer research by 31 percent: Senate report US President Donald Trump’s administration cut cancer research funding by 31 percent in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to a Senate report released Tuesday that accuses the White House of waging a “war on science.” The analysis, commissioned by the leftwing Senator Bernie Sanders, found that at least $13.5 billion in health funding had been terminated as of April, including 1,660 grants, while thousands of scientific staff were fired. Among the hardest hit was the National Cancer Institute, which lost more than $300 million from January to March compared to 2024, driving inflation-adjusted grant funding to its lowest level in over a decade. Its parent agency, the National Institutes of Health, lost $2.7 billion.

NOTUS: As Contracts Lapse Across HHS, the NIH Awards Millions for Help Becoming MAHA The National Institutes of Health awarded a consulting firm a $7 million contract earlier this month to retain “subject matter experts” who would help the NIH conform to President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s vision of a new American public health system. The contract was awarded to Credence Management Solutions without competition through an already-existing General Services Administration contract. It comes as Trump and Kennedy radically reshape the Department of Health and Human Services and how it uses contracts, with orders to slash current spending levels by 35%. Credence is a Virginia-based government contractor that has worked extensively with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Defense, but rarely with HHS and never before with the NIH. It’s unclear exactly which NIH initiatives Credence’s subject matter experts will support. But the contract’s language suggests a key role in furthering the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

Health Impacts:

Chaotic Firings and Re-Hirings:

Cruel, Destructive, and Corrupt Policy Changes:

The FDA Is Being Dismantled – Stalling Drug Development And Leaving Us Vulnerable To Food-Borne Illness 

Stat: FDA commissioner says new vaccine ‘framework’ for industry is coming within weeks Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency is planning to unveil new guidance for vaccine makers, focused primarily on Covid-19 shots, in the coming weeks.  “We want to be very transparent, and we want to create a framework for vaccine makers that they can use so they have a predictable FDA where they don’t have to worry,” Makary said at the Food and Drug Law Institute conference on Thursday.  Makary said Vinay Prasad, the new director of the center overseeing vaccines, is meeting with industry and FDA staff as he plans to “unleash a massive framework” clarifying the FDA’s regulatory expectations for vaccines. Makary didn’t offer many more details when talking to reporters after his session, but indicated the framework would take the form of agency guidance.

NBC: FDA moves to take prescription fluoride drops and tablets for kids off the market The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced it will begin the process of pulling prescription fluoride drops and tablets for children off the market. The supplements are usually given to kids at high risk for cavities. The federal government and some state legislatures are increasingly drawing attention to what they claim are the risks associated with fluoride, a mineral that’s been used for decades in community water systems, toothpastes and mouth rinses to prevent tooth decay. Dentists fiercely contest the notion that the harms of fluoride outweigh the benefits. “The only side effect that we know of from using fluoride is dental fluorosis,” a cosmetic issue that leads to white or, in extreme cases, brown marks on teeth, said Margherita Fontana, professor and chair of the department of cariology, restorative sciences and endodontics at the University of Michigan.

CNN: After delay, FDA approves Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine, but only for older people and those at high risk After a six-week delay, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine, according to a letter from the agency, but only for people 65 and older and those 12 and up who have at least one underlying condition that puts them at higher risk of severe illness. “Market research and US C.D.C. statistics indicate that older individuals and those with underlying conditions are the populations most likely to seek out COVID-19 vaccination seasonally,” Novavax President and CEO John Jacobs said in a statement Saturday. “This significant milestone demonstrates our commitment to these populations and is a significant step towards availability of our protein-based vaccine option.”

RFK Jr. Is An Extreme MAGA Anti-Vaxxer Who’s Breaking His “Assurances” To Key Republicans To Get Confirmed And Mis-Managing HHS 

Washington Post: RFK Jr. to Congress: ‘I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me’ Closing in on 100 days as the nation’s top health leader, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced back-to-back congressional hearings Wednesday — defending his messaging on vaccines amid a growing measles outbreak, the firing of thousands of federal health workers, and major cuts to the agencies he oversees.  During one of the sharpest lines of questioning in the first hearing in front of a House Appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) asked if Kennedy, the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group, would vaccinate his own child against measles today. Kennedy paused before answering, “Probably.” Kennedy went on to say, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me,” and he did not directly answer whether he would vaccinate his own children against chicken pox and polio today. “I think what we’re going to try to do,” he said, “is to lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits accurately, as we understand them.”

Stat: HHS to stop recommending routine Covid shots for children, pregnant people, RFK Jr. ally says

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to announce that the Department of Health and Human Services will stop recommending Covid vaccines for children and pregnant people, a close Kennedy ally said Thursday.  The news arrived between panels at a daylong event marking the launch of a new Make America Healthy Again-affiliated think tank called the MAHA Institute.  “Something just happened that’s really special. I was asked to please make this announcement,” Executive Director Leland Lehrman told attendees. “You might’ve already heard, but today the secretary is announcing that HHS and the CDC are going to stop recommending routine Covid shots for children and pregnant women.”  As the room broke out into applause, he chuckled and said, “That’s good! That’s really good.”

Wall Street Journal: Trump Officials Balk at RFK Jr.’s Attack on Pesticides A bid by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to label pesticides as a potential cause of U.S. health woes has attracted pushback from some White House and agency officials who are concerned the move would disrupt the food-supply chain, according to people familiar with the debate. Kennedy, who is spearheading a coming report to “Make America Healthy Again,” wants to highlight what he views as the deleterious impact of pesticides, people familiar with the matter said. He previously campaigned on removing pesticides from the food supply. White House officials have raised concerns about the pesticide push and are closely reviewing the coming report, the people said, though it wasn’t clear where President Trump himself stood on the issue. And some officials at the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates pesticides, and Agriculture Department have cast doubt on Kennedy’s desire to cast weedkillers as harmful to health. Trump pledged on the campaign trail to investigate pesticides as part of an effort to win support from Kennedy’s backers.

  • Politico: Trump EPA moves to weaken drinking water limits on toxic ‘forever chemicals’ The Trump administration said Wednesday it intends to roll back first-ever limits set by the Biden administration on four toxic “forever chemicals” contaminating water supplies across the country. Even low levels of the chemicals known as PFAS are linked with cancer, immune system problems, developmental effects and other health ailments. EPA-mandated testing has found them in nearly half of Americans’ drinking water.

Washington Post: Unpacking RFK Jr.’s ‘doublespeak’ on vaccines Early last month, after two Texas children had died of measles, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged that the MMR vaccine prevents the spread of that virus. But later that day, he posted photos of himself with anti-vaccine doctors, calling them “extraordinary healers” and promoting unproven treatments. In a television interview three days later, Kennedy, the nation’s top health official, encouraged vaccination for measles. In the same conversation, he cast doubt on whether one of the children had actually died of measles-related complications. And in an interview with Phil McGraw at the end of April, Kennedy said of the measles vaccine: “HHS continues to recommend that vaccine. But there are problems with the vaccine.” With the nation in the grip of the deadliest measles outbreak in decades, Kennedy is equivocating with a worried U.S. public, health experts said. His mixed message appeals to vaccine believers and skeptics, muddying public health instructions at a time when clarity is essential.

Other MAHA Activities:

Disastrous, Dangerous Appointments

Wired: Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Is Tearing the MAHA Movement Apart There are a lot of reasons to question President Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Casey Means to be surgeon general. She is not currently licensed as a doctor, failed to finish her surgical residency, and has voiced anti-vaccine opinions and embraced unproven alternative medicine, including advocating for raw milk and talking to trees. But her questionable credentials are not the reason why a large cohort of anti-vaxxers, extremists, and far-right figures are angry about the nomination, which Trump credits to health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. For figures like former Kennedy running mate Nicole Shanahan and renowned anti-vaccine activist Mike Adams, better known as the Health Ranger, Means is nowhere near extreme enough in her views, and is viewed as a “Manchurian asset.”

Stat: MAHA has a new think tank. The Trump administration is listening The Make America Healthy Again movement is coalescing around a new effort to turn its goals into federal policy. The Trump administration is listening. The MAHA Institute, a policy center launched Thursday, is pushing to change the American health and food systems: from rethinking vaccine availability and review to removing processed foods from schools, to using keto diets to treat mental illnesses and reforming the regulatory systems intended to protect the public. The leaders of the institute, meant to rival established think tanks and advocacy groups, are close allies of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — even as Kennedy has committed to distance himself from them upon taking office. The group’s chairman is Tony Lyons, whose Skyhorse Publishing has put out a raft of Kennedy’s books, including ones criticizing vaccines. At the institute’s inaugural event, officials from the Trump administration turned up, demonstrating the group’s influence from its inception.

Other Trump Staffing News:

GOP State Policymakers Are Following RFK Jr.’s Lead Attacking Vaccines And Proven Public Health Measures

Rolling Stone: RFK Jr. and Republicans Are Dismantling a Health Achievement: Fluoride in Water Disregarding the advice of medical professionals, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republicans are leading a charge against what has been heralded as one of the greatest public health achievements: fluoride in public water. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned fluoride from public water on Thursday, following Utah’s move to do the same in March. At least five other states are eyeing similar bans. “Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that’s fine, but forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people,” DeSantis said. “They don’t have a choice, you’re taking that away from them.”

Kennedy said last month that he will tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending fluoridation — the process of adding fluoride to drinking water — which has been shown to prevent tooth decay. He also said he is making a task force to study fluoride in drinking water. The same day, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sets the level of fluoride allowed in water, said it is reviewing “new scientific information” on the risks of fluoride.  The HHS head said Utah is “the leader in making America healthy again,” after the state banned fluoride from public drinking water.

New York Times: Energized by Kennedy, Texas ‘Mad Moms’ Are Chipping Away at Vaccine Mandates Rebecca Hardy and Michelle Evans helped found Texans for Vaccine Choice with a group of like-minded women in 2015, as measles was spreading in California. They defeated legislation tightening Texas school vaccine requirements, and helped oust the lawmaker who wrote it, earning a catchy nickname: “mad moms in minivans.” Now, as a measles outbreak that began in West Texas spreads to other parts of the country, the “mad moms” have a slew of new allies. The 2024 elections ushered in a wave of freshman Republicans who back their goal of making all vaccinations voluntary. But no ally may be as influential as the one they gained in Washington: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s most prominent vaccine skeptic. More than five dozen vaccine-related bills have been introduced in the Texas Legislature this year. Last week, the Texas House passed three of them. Those bills would make it easier for parents to exempt their children from school requirements; effectively bar vaccine makers from advertising in Texas; and prevent doctors from denying an organ transplant to people who are unvaccinated. The Association of Immunization Managers, a national organization of state and local immunization officials, is tracking 545 vaccine-related bills in state legislatures around the country, 180 more than last year — evidence, the group’s leaders say, that Mr. Kennedy is changing the national conversation. After peaking at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of vaccine-related bills had come down in recent years.

Public Health Threats

CNN: US drug overdose deaths saw an unprecedented drop in 2024, but federal cuts could threaten momentum Drug overdose deaths in the United States made an unprecedented drop to the lowest they’ve been in five years, according to a new federal government estimate released Wednesday. During the Covid-19 pandemic, drug overdose deaths had surged to record levels. The new data shows that declines that started in the second half of 2023 continued through 2024. There were an estimated 80,391 overdose deaths in 2024, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – a 27% drop in one year, with about 30,000 fewer deaths than in 2023.

Gizmodo: Moderna’s Super-Vaccine for Flu and Covid Works—Now Politics Could Sink It Moderna’s mRNA-based flu and covid-19 vaccine could provide the best of both worlds—if it’s actually ever approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This week, scientists at Moderna published data from a Phase III trial testing the company’s combination vaccine, codenamed mRNA-1083. Individuals given mRNA-1083 appeared to generate the same or even greater immune response compared to those given separate vaccines, the researchers found. But the FDA’s recent policy change on vaccine approvals, orchestrated by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, could imperil the development of this and other future vaccines.

CBS: Traveler with measles was at Newark Airport while infectious, health officials say A traveler with measles was at Newark Liberty International Airport for several hours while infectious this week, health officials said. Anyone who was in Newark Airport’s Terminal B between 12:30-4 p.m. Monday may have been exposed to measles, according to the New Jersey health department. Those who have been exposed could develop symptoms as late as June 2, health officials said. The health department said the patient is not a New Jersey resident and there are no known associated cases in the state at this time.

Public Health Threats Around The World:

Opinion and Commentary

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In News

STATEMENT: House Republicans Move Forward With Even Deeper Health Care Cuts to Fund Their Billionaire Tax Scam

Republicans Plow Ahead to Cut Taxes For the Rich on the Backs of Seniors, Children, and Working Families 

Washington, D.C. – After Republicans advanced their radical bill in the House Budget Committee late last night, press reports indicate Republicans are making even more cuts to Medicaid following pressure from right-wing lawmakers. Already the largest Medicaid cut in history, Republicans are jamming in even more cuts to health care in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. In addition to more draconian Medicaid cuts, Republicans are raising premiums and out-of-pocket costs for tens of millions of people who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These price hikes will force millions of middle-class families to lose their coverage altogether. 

“House Republicans took the next big step towards gutting millions of Americans’ health care to hand out more tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “This bill is getting worse by the minute. With House Republicans set to deepen their cuts to appease GOP hardliners, it’s time for so-called Republican moderates to put a stop to the war on health care. The so-called moderates sign letters and make statements on how they’ll protect Medicaid and then roll over and allow deeper cuts when they’re in Washington. At a time when too many Americans are struggling to make ends meet, Republicans are dead set on protecting the wealth of billionaires and massive companies – by slashing the health care and economic security of millions.”

BACKGROUND:

Republicans Plan To Speed Up Work Requirements To Throw More People Off Their Coverage. Republicans are set to make their Medicaid cuts even more extreme by moving up the implementation of their punitive work requirements. They are using job loss penalties and prohibitive reporting schemes to push through the cuts needed to pass this bill. But these policies don’t prevent fraud or improve efficiency – they make it harder for people to get the services they’re entitled to and only deliver the “savings” Republicans want by kicking people off coverage. 

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In News

Republicans Are Planning to Cut Medicaid Even More — It’s Time for So-Called GOP Moderates to Walk Away

U.S. Capitol Building

Washington, D.C. – As GOP leadership tries to salvage their devastating budget bill, reporting indicates Republicans are likely to make their Medicaid cuts more extreme in an effort to appease GOP hardliners. Instead of standing up and rejecting any more cuts to Americans’ health care, so-called Republican moderates seem prepared to turn their backs on their constituents and accept deeper cuts in order to pass more tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations.

“House Republicans are preparing to increase their Medicaid cuts and rip health care away from even more working families and vulnerable Americans,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “So-called moderate Republicans should walk away from this bill, which already strips health care away from nearly 14 million Americans. At a time when too many are struggling to make ends meet, Republicans seem dead set on protecting the wealth of billionaires and massive companies by slashing the health care and economic security of working families across our country.”

This budget bill will rip health care away from seniors, children, people fighting cancer, people with disabilities, and workers who don’t get insurance through their jobs. In addition to draconian Medicaid cuts, Republicans are raising premiums and out-of-pocket costs for tens of millions of people who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These price hikes will force millions of middle-class families to lose their coverage altogether. Republicans are determined to rip away health care from millions of Americans in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. 

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In News

Lawmakers, Advocates Join Events Across the Nation to Call Out Republicans’ Devastating Health Care Cuts

The Events Were Headlined by Senate Democratic Leader Schumer; House Democratic Leader Jeffries; Senators Klobuchar, Baldwin, Smith, Welch, Alsobrooks; Representatives Pallone, DeGette, Clarke, Tonko, Fletcher, Foushee, McClellan, Morrison; Former CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure; and More.

Over the past week, Protect Our Care hosted events nationwide with over a dozen members of Congress, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as well as health care advocates to condemn the extreme Republican budget. The GOP bill includes the largest Medicaid cuts in history in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. If Republicans succeed, they will hike health care costs, close rural hospitals, and rip coverage away from millions.

This week, House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees have voted to advance their legislation to slash billions from Medicaid funding. Over 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid/CHIP, including seniors, children, veterans, people with disabilities, workers who don’t get insurance through their jobs, and people who take care of their children or elderly parents. Americans across party lines oppose cuts to Medicaid, but Republicans are charging ahead to take away people’s health care in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. 

In addition to draconian Medicaid cuts, Republicans are raising premiums and out-of-pocket costs for tens of millions of people who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These Republican price hikes will force millions of middle-class families to lose their coverage altogether.

NATIONAL

“Reckless, Cruel, and Craven”: Senate Democratic Leader Schumer, Sens. Klobuchar, Baldwin, Smith, Welch, Alsobrooks Rail Against “Brutal” Cuts to Medicaid. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) joined Protect Our Care for a press conference condemning the Republican budget that includes the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. The Republican legislation will hike health care costs, close rural hospitals, and rip coverage away from millions. You can watch the event here and read the post-event release here.

  • Brattleboro Reformer: Welch, Democrats Fight Against Proposed Medicaid Cuts
  • Inside Health Policy: House GOP Leaders Eye Moving Up Work Requirements In Leadup To Friday Budget Markup
  • Wisconsin Radio Network: Sen Baldwin Says House Republicans Plan to Gut Medicaid to Pay for Tax Cuts
  • WAMC: Senate Democrats From the Region Criticize Proposed Republican Cuts to Medicaid

“There Are People Behind These Cuts”: House Democratic Leader Jeffries and Advocates Highlight the Cruel and Life-Threatening Impact of Republicans’ Medicaid Cuts. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined Protect Our Care and health care advocates in a roundtable discussion about the harm the Republican budget will cause to seniors and families across the country. The speakers discussed how critical Medicaid has been for providing lifesaving care and coverage to their families, and how the Republicans’ budget bill jeopardizes that care for millions of Americans. You can watch the event here and read the post-event release here.

“The Fight Has Begun”: Energy and Commerce Democratic Leadership Denounce “Extreme” Republican Plan To Rip Health Care Away From Millions. House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06), Ranking Member on Health Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO-01), and Vice Ranking Member Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-07) joined Protect Our Care for a press conference to call out Republicans’ plan to make the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. You can watch the event here and read the post-event release here.

STATES

ARIZONA

Monday, May 12 – E&C Markup Event with Former CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and Honest Arizona: Former CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Arizona Public Health Association Executive Director Will Humble, and advocates from Honest Arizona joined Protect Our Care Arizona to discuss the latest developments in the GOP assault on Medicaid. This week, the Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce committee are nailing down the details of their plan to cut critical funding from Medicaid in order to meet President Trump’s demands to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. Medicaid is critical for Arizonans’ health and well-being, and any cuts would be catastrophic for people who rely on the program, including seniors, children, and people with disabilities.“Imposing work requirements on Medicaid recipients would strip coverage from thousands of the most vulnerable Americans including those with chronic illnesses, disabilities, and caregiving responsibilities,” said J.J. Rico, CEO, Disability Rights Arizona. You can watch the event here, and read the post-event release here. 


  • KJZZ: Health care and patient advocates sound the alarm about potential cuts to Medicaid

CALIFORNIA

Wednesday, May 14—E&C Markup Event with Congressman Derek Tran’s Team and California Medi-Cal Advocate: Local families that rely on Medicaid and a representative from Rep. Derek Tran’s team joined Protect Our Care CA to discuss the latest developments in the GOP assault on Medicaid. This week, the Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce committee are nailing down the details of their plan to cut $715 billion from Medicaid in order to meet President Trump’s demands to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. “I grew up on Medi-Cal.I know how important these benefits are to so many people in my district and around the country. But instead of uplifting the American people, Republicans are taking a sledgehammer to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. In CA-45 alone, more than a hundred and fifty thousand people will be hurt by these reckless cuts,” said Rep. Derek Tran (CA-45) in remarks given by his legislative team member. “I’m proud to stand with Protect Our Care to defend and expand the programs that so many of our neighbors rely on. As long as I am in Congress, I will always defend Medicaid and fight to make our healthcare system better.” You can watch the event here, and view the post-event release here.

MINNESOTA

Thursday, May 15 – Energy & Commerce Committee Markup Event with Congresswoman Kelly Morrison and Health Care Advocates: Congresswoman Kelly Morrison, SEIU members, and Healthcare advocates joined Protect Our Care Minnesota to discuss the latest developments in the GOP assault on Medicaid. This week, the Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce committee are nailing down the details of their plan to cut $700 billion from Medicaid in order to meet President Trump’s demands to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. “If you get your health insurance through your employer, for example, and you think this won’t impact you, I’ve got bad news for you. You’re wrong. Because I have met with hospitals and clinics, and providers across the state, and they have been very clear that if these cuts go through, services will be cut for everyone,” said Congresswoman Kelly Morrison. “Hospitals will close their doors, which means there will be less access for everyone. So this is an everyone problem, and it’s something that every single one of us needs to pay attention to and get engaged with. We need to protect our care.” You can watch the event here, and view the post-event release here.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Thursday, May 15 – E&C Markup Event with Chrstin D’Ovidio and Sam Burgess: Christin D’Ovidio of Putney Consulting and Samuel Burgess of New Futures joined Protect Our Care New  Hampshire to warn that cuts to Medicaid would devastate care for more than 200,000 Granite Staters, gut rural hospitals, and create a health care crisis across the state. Medicaid is critical for Granite Staters’ health and well-being. These drastic cuts would be catastrophic for over 200,000 New Hampshire residents, including 60,000 children, 20,000 seniors, and 25,000 people with disabilities. If passed, this legislation would force rural hospitals to close, strip away care from thousands, and create a budget crisis across the state. “The proposed work requirements and repeated eligibility checks are not about accountability—they’re administrative hurdles designed to kick people off Medicaid,” said Sam Burgess, Esq., Health Care Policy Coordinator, New Futures. “Whether by design or default, this will lead to mass disenrollment.” You can read the post-event release here, and watch the full event here. 

  • The Tip Sheet: Proposed Cuts to Medicaid Put Coverage at Risk for 200,000+ Granite Staters
  • Patch: Proposed Cuts to Medicaid Put Coverage at Risk for 200,000+ Granite St
  • WMUR: NH health care advocates warn about risks to rural area if Medicaid cuts are approved

NEW YORK

Thursday, May 15 at 11:30 AM ET – E&C Markup Event with Congressmembers Paul Tonko and Yvette Clarke: Congressman Paul Tonko and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke — members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee — joined Protect Our Care New York to discuss the latest developments in the GOP assault on Medicaid. This week, the Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to pass their plan to cut $700 billion from Medicaid in order to meet President Trump’s demands to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. “Let’s be clear: this proposal isn’t just an abstract policy debate. It’s a direct threat to the health and dignity of millions of Americans,” said Congressman Paul Tonko. “I’ve met with families across New York who rely on Medicaid for life-saving treatments, for in-home care that allows seniors to stay in their communities and for critical support for children with complex medical needs. Slashing these funds to hand tax breaks to billionaires is morally indefensible. We should be strengthening the safety net, not tearing it apart.” Congresswoman Yvette Clarke said, “Medicaid is more than a program — it’s a promise. A promise that in this country, no one should have to choose between putting food on the table and getting the care they need. The GOP’s proposal breaks that promise in the worst possible way. It puts the profits of the wealthy ahead of the health of our children, our elderly, and people with disabilities. New Yorkers will not stand quietly while Washington plays politics with our lives.” You can watch the event here, and view the post-event release here.

  • WBFO-FM (4pm): New York Reps Tonko and Clarke Speak Out Against Medicaid Cuts
  • WBFO-FM (7am): New York Reps Tonko and Clarke Speak Out Against Medicaid Cuts
  • WXXI-FM: Growing number of politicians, organizations speak out on proposed cuts

 

NORTH CAROLINA

Monday, May 12 – Energy & Commerce Committee Markup Event with Congresswoman Valerie Foushee and Health Care Advocates: Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, State Senator Natalie Murdock, and Ashley Robinson of Little Lobbyists joined Protect Our Care North Carolina to discuss the latest developments in the GOP assault on Medicaid. “In the fourth district alone, 107,000 people depend on Medicaid for health coverage with roughly half of them being children under the age of 19,” said Congresswoman Foushee. “These cuts aren’t just numbers on a page, they are real people,  real families who are being impacted and will face greater hardships as a result of this administration’s actions.” You can watch the event here, and view the post-event release here.

VIRGINIA

Thursday, May 15 – Energy & Commerce Committee Markup Event with Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan and Health Care Advocates: Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, health care advocates, and storytellers joined Protect Our Care Virginia to discuss the latest developments in the GOP assault on Medicaid. This week, the Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce committee are nailing down the details of their plan to cut $715 billion dollars from Medicaid in order to meet President Trump’s demands to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. “Due to these changes, you lose your health insurance under Medicaid, you lose your subsidy to be able to purchase insurance through the Marketplace. That’s how we get to 13.7 million people who will lose health insurance,” said Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan. “Those costs will go to the rest of us. Providers will feel the stress of that. We will have rural hospitals threatening to close again, like we did before we expanded in Virginia. About 200,000 Virginians stand to lose access to their health care here. And why? Why are we doing this? To fund tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% by making the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent.” You can watch the event here, and view the post-event release here.

  • Virginia Mercury: McClellan, Virginia Democrats warn of dire impact to state if proposed Medicaid cuts materialize
  • 13NewsNow: Newly proposed bill threatens Medicaid expansion enrollment in Virginia
  • WVEC: Proposed GOP cuts to Medicaid
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