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June 2025

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In News

Trump’s War on Health Care: Public Health Watch

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

The Times: ‘RFK Jr is a disaster’: Staff describe chaos in ‘anti-science’ regime Ever since Robert F Kennedy Jr was appointed health secretary in February, more than 10,000 staff — many with decades of experience — have been fired. Now, the tens of thousands of health workers and scientists still employed by the US government feel like their lives have been turned upside down, according to ten current and former staff at the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), speaking to The Times. Under instruction from Kennedy and Doge, health priorities have been reset, longstanding scientific norms disrupted and thousands of research programmes cancelled because of their perceived “wokeness”, officials said. “RFK Jr is a disaster,” said one CDC grant specialist who joined the agency within the past five years. “He is completely dismantling things to the point where the damage is going to become irreparable.”

Politico: RFK Jr. is making it more difficult to enroll in Obamacare The Trump administration is tightening eligibility for Obamacare coverage in what it says is a bid to combat a “surge of improper enrollments” and to lower insurance costs broadly. Critics say the rule changes will cause eligible people to miss out on a chance at subsidized health insurance and increase the uninsured rate. “With this rule, we’re lowering marketplace premiums, expanding coverage for families, and ensuring that illegal aliens do not receive taxpayer-funded health insurance,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a press release that projects $12 billion in savings from the rule changes next year. Those changes include reducing the enrollment period for plans by two weeks, adding paperwork requirements for some enrollees, ending the use of federal subsidies to help cover the cost of transgender people’s transition-related medical care, and barring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients from purchasing insurance on the exchanges. Those are immigrants brought to the country without documentation when they were children whom President Barack Obama protected from deportation. The final rule also repeals a special enrollment period for individuals in households earning less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level. CMS estimates about 725,000 to 1.8 million people will lose coverage as a result of the final rule. In January, CMS said about 24 million people had signed up for Obamacare coverage for 2025.

Politico: The MAHA report praised this nutrition program. Trump wants to cut it. The Trump administration and House Republicans are taking aim at a popular nutrition program that earned rare praise in the Make America Healthy Again Commission report. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, is in the crosshairs as the White House moves to cut fruit and vegetable benefits that were expanded during the Biden administration. Food aid advocates are expressing dismay over the disconnect between President Donald Trump’s spending plans and the stated aims of his MAHA Commission, which noted in its report that WIC helps lower obesity rates in kids. Shrinking the fruit and vegetable benefit could lead to declining participation and lessen the program’s ability to help families build healthy eating habits, supporters say. The program currently serves more than 6 million low-income people.

Washington Post: His custom cancer therapy is in an NIH freezer. He may not get it in time. Richard Schlueter, 56, was planting cucumbers and squash in his community garden plot in Greensboro, Georgia, in May when he tore open a bag of soil and heard a pop. His collarbone had snapped. In early June, a scan revealed that the cancer that started in his tonsils was racing through his bones. That day, he called a medical team at the National Institutes of Health that had created an experimental cell therapy, custom-made to attack his cancer as part of a clinical trial. He needed it. Now. Instead, he received more bad news: His therapy would be delayed at least a month because of staff cuts at NIH. A week later, Schlueter and his wife, Michelle, saw NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya push back on concerns raised by his own staff that the ouster of essential employees and other disruptions to the biomedical research agency were harming science and patients. Bhattacharya said on X that objections raised in a document called the Bethesda Declaration contained “fundamental misconceptions” about NIH’s new direction. Each termination was being reviewed, and some workers were reinstated, he added. But the Schlueters had a front-row seat to the effects of the job losses. Richard’s therapy was in a freezer, nearly ready to go. All along, they had been told the final step of preparation takes three to four weeks. But on June 3, his NIH doctor informed him that it would now take eight to 10 weeks because of cuts to essential lab personnel — a painful illustration of the life-and-death stakes of the administration’s approach to shrinking the government workforce.

Health Impacts:

Chaos at the CDC and FDA Is Putting America’s Public Health At Risk

New York Times: Why a Vaccine Expert Left the C.D.C.: ‘Americans Are Going to Die’ In 13 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Fiona Havers crafted guidance for contending with Zika virus, helped China respond to outbreaks of bird flu and guided safe burial practices for Ebola deaths in Liberia. More recently, she was a senior adviser on vaccine policy, leading a team that produced data on hospitalizations related to Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. To the select group of scientists, federal officials and advocates who study who should get immunizations and when, Dr. Havers is well known, an embodiment of the C.D.C.’s intensive data-gathering operations. On Monday, Dr. Havers resigned, saying she could no longer continue while the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dismantled the careful processes that help formulate vaccination standards in the United States. “If it isn’t stopped, and some of this isn’t reversed, like, immediately, a lot of Americans are going to die as a result of vaccine-preventable diseases,” she said in an interview with The New York Times, the first since her resignation. Dr. Havers, 49, cited an escalating series of attacks on federal vaccine policy by Mr. Kennedy.

Stat: Top gene therapy regulator forced out at FDA Nicole Verdun, director of the office that reviews cell and gene therapies at the Food and Drug Administration, and her deputy Rachael Anatol have been placed on administrative leave and escorted out of the agency, according to a recording of a meeting obtained by STAT. Verdun had worked closely with Peter Marks, the former head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, on establishing new paths for bringing gene therapies to market, particularly in rare diseases. Marks was forced out by the Trump administration in March for his role in regulating Covid-19 vaccines. Verdun was seen as a key figure in the center, especially after Marks’ departure. At that time, the CEO of a gene therapy maker told STAT, “We value continuity, so having Verdun stay at the FDA is really important.” In addition to Marks, other top officials at CBER have left since the beginning of the administration.

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

NBC: Kennedy’s picks for vaccine advisory panel raise concerns about anti-vaccine bias Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s unprecedented shake-up of a key federal vaccine advisory panel ushered in appointees who have expressed skepticism about the value and safety of vaccines — raising concerns about the group’s objectivity. The eight new members Kennedy appointed to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about who should get certain vaccines, include three people who have testified as expert witnesses against vaccine makers, NBC News found in a review of the members’ professional backgrounds.

Politico: Vaccine advisers to review ingredient RFK Jr. has long wanted banned Before he became health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote a book alleging the vaccine preservative thimerosal likely caused autism and should be banned — a claim that health agencies now under his control have said is unfounded. Next week, Kennedy-appointed advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consider thimerosal’s use in vaccines. The agenda for the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, released Wednesday, says the panel will hold two separate votes: one on “Influenza Vaccines” and one on influenza vaccines that contain thimerosal. In his 2014 book, Kennedy argued that “there is a virtually unanimous scientific consensus among the hundreds of research scientists who have published peer-reviewed articles in the field that Thimerosal is immensely toxic to brain tissue” and called for its removal from vaccines. Myriad peer-reviewed scientific studies dispute that there’s any link between thimerosal and health harms, and a federal vaccine court rejected arguments alleging a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism in the late 2000s. The panel’s move to examine thimerosal suggests Kennedy is using it to pursue the ban he’s long sought, wrote MedPage Today Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Faust in a commentary. ”Elevating this debunked myth to national policy lends credence to misinformation, and sets the stage for other actions that may undermine vaccine confidence in the United States,” Faust added.

NOTUS: Sen. Bernie Sanders Wants an Investigation of RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Firings Sen. Bernie Sanders is asking Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican chair of the health committee, to investigate Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent decision to fire all 17 members of the nation’s top vaccine advisory committee. In a letter provided to NOTUS by the Vermont senator’s office, Sanders questioned Kennedy’s recent dismissal of the entire membership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Sanders is the ranking member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

NBC: Outside groups organize to form unbiased, independent vaccine panel In the wake of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to shake up a key federal vaccine advisory committee, outside medical organizations and independent experts are looking for alternate sources of unbiased information and even considering forming a group of their own. A leading contender is a new group led by Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert and the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota. Osterholm is launching the Vaccine Integrity Project at CIDRAP as a potential alternative to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Other MAHA Activity:

Disastrous, Dangerous Appointments

Stat: Vinay Prasad named chief medical and science officer at FDA Vinay Prasad will now hold three separate jobs at the Food and Drug Administration, solidifying his position as a top adviser to Commissioner Marty Makary. Prasad will serve as the agency’s chief medical and scientific officer, in addition to leading the center that regulates vaccines, gene therapies, and the blood supply, according to an internal memo obtained by STAT. Traditionally, the agency’s chief scientist and chief medical officer have been two distinct roles.  “In this capacity, he will serve as a trusted advisor to the FDA Commissioner and other senior officials on cross-cutting and emerging medical and scientific issues impacting regulatory science and public health,” Makary wrote in the memo announcing the news to staff. The agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The role greatly expands Prasad’s purview, giving him explicit authority to oversee and weigh in on regulatory issues in any center. He will advise Makary on medical policy and regulatory decisions, and represent the FDA at advisory committee meetings and external forums. Prasad, a hematologist and oncologist, made his name in the medical world as a health care provocateur, criticizing the designs of clinical trials and the relationships between doctors and industry. The FDA was a frequent target, with Prasad accusing regulators of being too lenient and cozy with industry. He’s struck a more earnest, respectful tone with staff since becoming a leader at the agency last month. 

Public Health Threats

New York Times: ‘I Feel Like I’ve Been Lied To’: When a Measles Outbreak Hits Home He was a chiropractor by training, but in a remote part of West Texas with limited medical care, Kiley Timmons had become a first stop for whatever hurt. Ear infections. Labor pains. Oil workers who arrived with broken ribs and farmers with bulging discs. For more than a decade, Kiley, 48, had seen 20 patients each day at his small clinic located between a church and a gas station in Brownfield, population 8,500. He treated what he could, referred others to physicians and prayed over the rest. It wasn’t until early this spring that he started to notice something unfamiliar coming through the door: aches that lingered, fevers that wouldn’t break, discolored patches of skin that didn’t make sense. At first, he blamed it on a bad flu season, but the symptoms stuck around and then multiplied. By late March, a third of his patients were telling him about relatives who couldn’t breathe. And then Kiley started coughing, too. His wife, Carrollyn, had recently tested positive for Covid, but her symptoms eased as Kiley’s intensified. He went to a doctor at the beginning of April for a viral panel, but every result came back negative. The doctor decided to test for the remote possibility of measles, since there was a large outbreak spreading through a Mennonite community 40 miles away, but Kiley was vaccinated. “I feel like I’m dying,” Kiley texted a friend. He couldn’t hold down food or water. He had already lost 10 pounds. His chest went numb, and his arms began to tingle. His oxygen was dropping dangerously low when he finally got the results. “Positive for measles,” he wrote to his sister, in mid-April. “Just miserable. I can’t believe this.” Twenty-five years after measles was officially declared eliminated from the United States, this spring marked a harrowing time of rediscovery. A cluster of cases that began at a Mennonite church in West Texas expanded into one of the largest outbreaks in a generation, spreading through communities with declining vaccination rates as three people died and dozens more were hospitalized from Mexico to North Dakota. Public health officials tracked about 1,200 confirmed cases and countless exposures across more than 30 states. People who were contagious with measles boarded domestic flights, shopped at Walmart, played tuba in a town parade and toured the Mall of America. But what frightened Kiley more than the potential spread was the severity of the disease: About one in five unvaccinated people with measles will be hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as one in 20 children contracts a secondary pneumonia infection. More than one in 1,000 dies. Measles stops spreading when 95 percent of a community is immune, but national vaccination rates for children have fallen to less than 92 percent. In parts of West Texas, they’ve dropped below 80.

Public Health Threats Around The World: 

Opinion and Commentary

ashoup
In News

HEADLINES: Nearly 2 Million Could Lose Coverage As Trump Administration Pushes Backdoor Repeal of ACA

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to shorten the Affordable Care Act enrollment period, stop monthly enrollment periods for lower-income families, and add miles of red tape to prevent hard-working Americans from obtaining affordable coverage. This means up to 2 million Americans could lose life-saving coverage, according to CMS. At the same time, Republicans in Congress are marching forward with their big, ugly bill that makes the largest health care cuts in history. These coordinated attacks are deliberate efforts to dismantle the ACA piece by piece, all at the expense of hard-working families across the country.  

Politico: RFK Jr. Is Making It More Difficult To Enroll In Obamacare

  • “The Trump administration is tightening eligibility for Obamacare coverage in what it says is a bid to combat a ‘surge of improper enrollments’ and to lower insurance costs broadly. Critics say the rule changes will cause eligible people to miss out on a chance at subsidized health insurance and increase the uninsured rate… CMS estimates about 725,000 to 1.8 million people will lose coverage as a result of the final rule. In January, CMS said about 24 million people had signed up for Obamacare coverage for 2025.”

Axios: Trump Admin Shortens ACA Enrollment Window

  • “The Trump administration on Friday narrowed the period to sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage and imposed other restrictions aimed at rolling back Biden-era flexibilities for the program… Congress is considering codifying many of the same provisions in the massive GOP budget bill that’s now in the Senate. That would make them much harder for a future administration to undo.”

Bloomberg: Trump Administration’s New Rule Will Limit Obamacare Enrollments

  • “Trump administration officials on Friday finalized regulations aimed at making it more difficult to enroll in health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. The rules will limit the time frame for people to sign up for health insurance through the exchanges and cancel a monthly opportunity for people with incomes below 150% of the federal poverty line to enroll, among other changes.”

The Hill: Trump Administration Makes Sweeping Changes to Obamacare, Ends ‘Dreamer’ Coverage

  • “According to the rule, the federal open enrollment period will run from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. Currently, federal open enrollment ends Jan. 15. States operating their own health insurance exchanges will have the flexibility to set their open enrollments, so long as they run no longer than nine weeks between the November and December dates.”

Modern Healthcare: CMS Tightens Exchange Enrollment Rules

  • “The regulation, which CMS proposed in March, shortens the open enrollment period, cancels a rolling special enrollment period for low-income people and institutes stronger income verification processes for subsidy applicants. The regulation is the latest step in President Donald Trump and Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to reshape the insurance marketplaces. It also aligns with a broader campaign to limit spending in federal health programs. The Republican majority in Congress is pursuing similar goals.”

Daily Beast: Trump Changes Could Kick A Million People Off Obamacare

  • “The Trump administration will make sweeping changes to Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage that could kick more than a million people off the rolls… CMS said the new policies will lower marketplace premiums by an average of 5 percent, saving $12 billion a year. However, between 725,000 and 1.8 million people are expected to lose coverage, CMS projections show.”

Bloomberg Law: Trump HHS Moves To Shorten Obamacare Enrollment Period

  • “The rule continues an effort by the first Trump administration to limit access to, and funding for ACA coverage. The number of people with ACA coverage dipped during Trump’s first term, as the administration pulled back some on premium subsidies and tried to repeal the law.”

Healthcare Dive: CMS Slashes ACA Sign-Up Periods, Tightens Eligibility In Final Rule

  • “Currently, 24 million Americans are enrolled in ACA plans — an all-time high, after the Biden administration made it easier and more affordable to sign up for the coverage. But that number is expected to shrink following implementation of the final rule. The CMS estimates between 725,000 and 1.8 million people could lose coverage in 2026 as a result of the policies, which significantly raise the burden of verification for financial assistance and shorten enrollment windows for ACA plans.”
ashoup
In News

Headlines from Hell: The GOP Marches Towards a Political Cliff With a Bill So Bad, Republicans May Need to ‘Hold [Their] Nose’ While Voting

As Republicans double down on deeply unpopular policies, headlines across the country are sounding the alarm. The GOP’s big, ugly bill makes the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in history to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. An estimated 16 million Americans would lose life-saving coverage, 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. With each move, the GOP is not only endangering the health care of millions of Americans but marching itself closer to political disaster. 

HEADLINES

Wall Street Journal: Medicaid Work Requirements Have Mostly Failed. The GOP Is Still Pushing Them

Washington Examiner: GOP Medicaid Cuts Would Shutter Third of Rural Hospitals as Some Lawmakers Shrug: ‘Hold Your Nose’

The Guardian: Republican Senators’ Proposed Medicaid Cuts Threaten to Send Red States ‘Backwards’

Washington Post: In West Virginia, Medicaid Is a Lifeline. GOP Cuts Could Devastate the State

MSNBC: ‘Look My Child in the Eye’: Parent Confronts GOP Over Medicaid Cuts

New York Times: ‘Little Lobbyists’ Urge Senators to Oppose Trump’s Bill Cutting Medicaid

Politico: How the Senate Megabill Could Backfire on Conservatives

NPR: In This Rural Colorado Valley, Cuts to Medicaid Would Have Vast Ripple Effects

Bloomberg: Senate Readies Tax Bill for Vote With Holdouts Threatening Delay

The American Prospect: The Word Games That Enable Medicaid Cuts

The Hill: Opinion: The Hidden Casualties of Medicaid Cuts: America’s Family Caregivers

Bloomberg: Opinion: Cutting Medicaid Is The Issue That Can Damage Republicans the Most

Washington Post: Opinion: Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Could Break the MAGA Coalition

ashoup
In News

Sabotage: Trump’s New Rules Plus GOP’s Big Ugly Bill Are Simply A Backdoor Repeal of the ACA

Washington, D.C. – Republicans are continuing their all-out assault on the Affordable Care Act. On Friday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to shorten the Affordable Care Act enrollment period and added miles of red tape to prevent hard-working Americans from obtaining affordable coverage. According to CMS, up to 2 million people will lose coverage as a result. This news comes as Republicans push forward their big, ugly bill, hiking premiums and ripping away health care from millions to hand out tax breaks for billionaires and corporations. 

In response, Protect Our Care President Brad Woodhouse issued a statement:

“Donald Trump and Republicans couldn’t repeal the ACA outright, so now they’re trying to dismantle it piece by piece – through administrative sabotage and the big ugly bill. By slashing the enrollment period and adding new barriers to sign up for coverage, the Trump administration is continuing its campaign of sabotage against the Affordable Care Act. These changes are deliberately designed to strip health care from nearly two million Americans. It will hit hard-working families the hardest and will have devastating consequences for communities across the country – all while Trump and Republicans are prioritizing tax breaks for the wealthy.”

ashoup
In News

HEADLINES: Across the Nation, Everyday Americans Speak Out Against Republicans’ Health Care Cuts, Warn Senators of Consequences

Over the past week, health care advocates and everyday Americans from coast to coast have been sounding the alarm over the GOP spending bill that will kick 16 million Americans off their health care in order to hand out tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. The Republican bill makes the biggest cut to American health care in history, decimating Medicaid and dismantling the Affordable Care Act. People are yelling from the rooftops, warning about the devastation the GOP plan will cause—seniors will be thrown out of nursing homes, rural hospitals will shutter, children and people with disabilities will lose coverage, and people with serious medical conditions like cancer will be forced to stop treatment. Every single community will feel the effects of Donald Trump and Republicans’ big, ugly bill.

ALASKA

Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: Medicaid Cuts Will Put Alaska Hospitals and Alaskans’ Health Care at Risk. Our Senators Need to Step Up.
Philip Hofstetter, AuD is the CEO of Petersburg Medical Center, an independent community critical access hospital serving Petersburg Borough in Southeast Alaska.

  • “I have worked for over 30 years to improve health outcomes for rural Alaska communities in both Northwest and Southeast Alaska. All over this state, the truth is that all Alaskans depend on people who depend on Medicaid. They are our relatives, our friends, our childcare providers, the people who fish and hunt and farm to feed us. They are our neighbors. Regardless of what talking points come out of Washington, D.C., the data is clear: the majority of the people covered by Medicaid already work full-time. And when they are uninsured, the impact ripples across entire communities.”

Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: Big Beautiful Bill Is a Big Betrayal to Alaska and Alaskans. 

  • “Three Trump cabinet officials concluded their recent visit to Alaska with an opinion piece in the Anchorage Daily News pitching an energy renaissance in our state that only the “Big Beautiful Bill” can bring about. But we Alaskans should question what these Outsiders are selling. For starters, what the Trump-endorsed bill fundamentally does is provide more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, paid for mainly by raiding Medicaid, Medicare and food stamps. It would increase the federal deficit by an estimated $3 trillion.”

Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: Planned Parenthood Is Crucial to Protecting Alaska Survivors of Trafficking and MMIR.

  • “Survivors rely on low-barrier, trauma-informed services to access care without fear, shame, or financial hardship. Removing this access would strip away one of the few consistent lifelines available to those navigating violence and exploitation. If we are truly committed to building a safer, more just Alaska, we must ensure that all people — especially those at highest risk — can access care that honors their dignity, safety, and humanity. Preserving Medicaid eligibility for Planned Parenthood is essential to supporting survivors and safeguarding our communities with the respect they deserve.”

Fairbanks Daily News Miner: Opinion: What Would Don Young Have Done? 

  • “It is important for Alaskans to understand that there is no way the state will be able to make up the difference for these cuts — we simply do not have the budgetary flexibility. Even when the 90-10 revenue split goes into effect in 10 years, that will not cover the entire loss of Medicaid funding, and in the meantime, we will be left in an even more financially vulnerable position with the delayed effective date of that provision. Put succinctly, Alaskans will die because of these Medicaid cuts.”

Alaska Beacon: Opinion: The Big, the Bad and the Ugly, Even for Alaskans

  • “The Republican bill also cuts $793 billion from Medicaid. This would result in 279,000 Alaskans (that’s approximately 38 % of our population) being at risk of insufficient health coverage. Jared Kosin, president and CEO of the Alaska Hospital & Healthcare Association, said if Congress makes substantial cuts to Medicaid, ‘It would be catastrophic, not only for the health care system, [but] for Alaskans across our entire state.’ Add in the elimination of renewable energy tax credits, you get a lot ‘ugly’ in this bill that negatively affects Alaskans.”

Alaska Beacon: Alaskans Rally Across the State for Democracy and ‘No Kings’ Protest Against Trump

  • “Stephanie Schulling held a protest sign reading, “no sign is big enough for all the reasons I’m here.” She said as a social worker, she feels an ethical responsibility to show up and protest ‘the issues with people being disappeared, the issues with DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency), the issues with the possibility of Medicaid, Social Security, you know, all those sorts of safety nets going away. It’s unthinkable.’”

Anchorage Daily News: Thousands Show for Anti-Trump Protest in Downtown Anchorage; Crowds Rally in Other Alaska Communities

  • “I’m fighting for democracy,” said 68-year-old Chris Evans. “I’m fighting for women’s rights, equality, fairness, no hypocrisy, double-standards. I’m just fighting for all of it to have our country united again, and all be on the same page being American.”

Alaska’s News Source: ‘Keep Our Democracy Going’: Thousands Take to the Streets of Anchorage for ‘No Kings’ Protest

  • “‘There’s a real sense of community in Alaska and we’re here for each other and we want to see the best outcomes this new budget bill that’s coming out, [the] cuts to Medicaid is going to have an extreme ripple effect within Alaska and having our communities deeply affected,’ Protest Carly said.”

Alaska Native News: Homer Residents Rally to Protect South Peninsula Hospital and Medicaid. 

  • “Wednesday, more than 50 residents, caregivers, and health care advocates gathered in Karen Hornaday Park and marched to South Peninsula Hospital as part of Save Our Hospitals Week, raising their voices against federal proposals to slash Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding. The rally called attention to the devastating impact these cuts would have on rural hospitals across Alaska, including South Peninsula Hospital—a nationally ranked Critical Access Hospital that provides essential services to the southern Kenai Peninsula.”

Homer News: Point Of View: Not Fishing For Favors — Alaskans Need Basic Health Care Access

  • “We work on boats, in processing plants, and on the docks, often in seasonal or contract jobs that do not come with insurance. Still, we show up and do the work without asking for special treatment. What we do need is access to basic health care. When you get hurt, a broken wrist or a torn knee, you cannot just push through it. That is why DenaliCare, Alaska’s version of Medicaid, matters. It helps people like me and thousands of other Alaskans get the care they need when buying private insurance just is not possible. Right now, that care is at risk.”

IOWA

TV Clips

  • KCCI: “Vigil” for Medicaid
  • WHO13: Advocates Hold a “Protect Our Care” Vigil Outside Senator Ernst’s Office  

USA Today/Yahoo News: Opinion: I Lived My Worst Nightmare – But Medicaid Made My Daughter’s 14 Months Possible

  • “I lived the gift of Medicaid, and I see the daily support Medicaid provides in our community. A deacon in my congregation is on Medicaid. He lives on a fixed income, so he walks to work and to church, and yet, he’s the first one there every Sunday morning. He makes the coffee. He prepares the communion trays. One Sunday, when a gentleman quietly weeped after the loss of his beloved wife of 72 years, this deacon gently placed his hand on his shoulder and held the communion tray until he was ready to be served. The patience and comfort our deacon showed that day is what Medicaid provides for Iowans. It doesn’t provide everything, just a gentle hand as we face the challenges of life.”

MAINE

TV Clips

  • WGME: Garrett Martin, CEO of the Maine Center of Economic Policy, Sits Down With CBS13 to Talk About Medicaid Cuts Threatening Rural Hospitals. 

Lewiston Sun Journal: Opinion: Medicaid Cuts a Disaster in the Making for Maine

  • “These cuts aren’t just an attack on health care — they’re an economic disaster in the making. Stripping people of their coverage will force more uninsured patients into emergency rooms, increasing costs for hospitals and taxpayers. Medicaid ensures that people can afford preventive care, reducing avoidable hospital admissions and keeping our workforce healthy. Slashing it will lead to financial strain on hospitals, higher insurance premiums and a less productive economy.”

Bangor Daily News: Opinion: Cutting Medicaid Will Harm Maine’s Most Vulnerable

  • “Sen. Susan Collins has a renewed opportunity to be a champion for people with disabilities by opposing these devastating cuts. In April, she voted with Democrats opposing the budget resolution that would likely require cuts in Medicaid programs. Now, with the Senate aiming to pass its version of a reconciliation package by July 4, the senator faces a critical decision. Will she support a bill that slashes essential programs like Medicaid, or will she stand up for the Maine families who rely on these services and have no meaningful alternatives?”

VIRGINIA

TV Clips

  • WRIC: Health Care Advocates Voice Opposition on Sears’ Silence on Medicaid Cuts

Richmond Free Press: Protesters Call Out Sears’ Silence on Medicaid Cuts

  • “Dozens of union workers, healthcare professionals and local residents rallied outside the Hippodrome Theater on Tuesday, June 17, where Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears held her election night party for the Virginia governor’s race.”

WEST VIRGINIA

TV Clips

  • WOWK: Medicaid and SNAP Benefits Facing Cuts, Advocates Ask for WV Senators’ Help

West Virginia Watch: WV Health Care Organizations Again Call On Capito, Justice Not To Support Cuts To Snap, Medicaid 

  • “Set up across the street from the federally funded Cabin Creek Health Care Center, advocates, clients and healthcare providers spoke out against the federal budget bill that – if passed in its current form – would cut $700 billion in Medicaid funding. Rally organizers said the cuts would be catastrophic for West Virginians who rely on the program, including 49,000 seniors, 196,000 children, and 86,000 people with disabilities.”

WV Public Broadcasting and West Virginia News: Medicaid Rally Protests Proposed Budget Cuts 

  • “Full time care-giver Mariah Plante from Wyoming County told the crowd how Medicaid is a lifeline for her disabled brother Matt. ‘Resources for families like ours are limited out where we live in the holler, but Medicaid provides his medical care, his eyeglasses, behavioral support, prescriptions and access to specialists that we could never afford on our own. Most importantly, Medicaid allows for us to care for Matt at home where he’s loved, not in a facility.’”

WCHS: West Virginians Rally Against Proposed $700 Billion Medicaid Cuts at Press Conference.

  • “‘There are seven hospitals that will probably close fairly quickly because they’re on razor-thin margins,’ Allen said. ‘When people in communities don’t have access to health care, that means if they go to the hospital, the hospitals are going to have uncompensated care. The hospitals cannot remain open without some form of payment.’”

WV Metro News: Community Groups: Watch Out for Congressional Changes to Medicaid and Snap.

  •  “‘Cutting Medicaid doesn’t just hurt patients; it threatens the jobs of the frontline healthcare workers who care for the patients. Some of the largest employers in the state are hospitals, nursing homes and home healthcare providers who rely on Medicaid to keep the doors open,’ McKinney said. ‘Cuts to Medicaid will mean layoffs, short staffing and increased pressure on an already strained healthcare workforce.’”

WDTV: Health Officials Hold Conference in Charleston, Talk Medicaid and Snap Concerns.

  • “‘Let me be absolutely clear, cuts to Medicaid- cuts our lifeline,’ Said McKinney. ‘In a state like ours, nearly 1 in 3 West Virginians rely on Medicaid. The consequences of federal cuts won’t be measured in spreadsheets, it’ll be measured in lost jobs, closed clinics, struggling families, unnecessary suffering, and people will die.’”

Charleston Gazette-Mail: ‘Devastating Consequences’: Local Advocates Urge Senate To Reject Proposed Snap Cuts

  • “‘Most of these people are working families, or families have dedicated their life to West Virginia’s workforce, who are now retired and raising grandfamilies,’ Alecia Allen, co-executive and clinical director at Keep Your Faith Corp., a Charleston community support group, said at a gathering Tuesday at the Cabin Creek Health Systems Westside Health clinic in Charleston to rally food and health care access support. ‘Those families need to be connected to healthy food.’”

Times-West Virginian: WV Health Care Organizations Again Call On Capito, Justice Not To Support Cuts To Snap, Medicaid

  • “‘Right now, as we stand here on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, in Washington, D.C., they are making cruel calculations,’ said Lida Shepherd, a representative of the American Friends Service Committee, which helped host the event. ‘ How big of a handout of our tax dollars can be given to the wealthiest families and corporations … [while] taking SNAP and Medicaid away from all of us? Will we let them get away with playing political chess with our lives? No.’”

West Virginia Watch: Opinion: The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Threatens the Work Done on the Overdose Crisis in West Virginia.

  • “Patients don’t need more hurdles and barriers to care, especially the many who are already in poor health, disabled, dealing with substance use disorders, or living in challenging circumstances. They have enough to juggle without the risk of losing their health care hanging over their heads every single month.”

Charleston Gazette-Mail: Opinion: Unnecessary Deaths Easily Preventable.

  • “Recently, Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst stirred up controversy by dismissing concerns like these, saying ‘we are all going to die.’ Maybe so. But working-class people don’t have to die prematurely in the tens of thousands every year just to enrich the wealthiest. This is totally preventable.”
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In News

Rep. Nanette Barragán, Local Health Care Advocates to Join Protect Our Care California As Republicans Vote to Decimate Rural Health Care, Force 28 California Hospitals to Close

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY, JUNE 20 at 10:00 AM***

GOP Proposed Cuts to Medicaid Put Coverage for Millions of Californians on the Chopping Block and Put 28 California Hospitals at Risk of Closure 

BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA — On Friday, June 20th at 10:00 AM PT, Rep. Nanette Barragán and local health care advocates will join Protect Our Care California during Save Our Hospitals Week to discuss the ongoing GOP assault on Medicaid and its impact on California hospitals. Rep. David Valadao and his fellow Republicans in the House recently passed Trump’s big, ugly bill that slashes funding for Americans’ health care in order to hand out tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. If Republicans get their way and this bill is signed into law, the consequences would be catastrophic, threatening millions of Californians access to coverage and putting 338 rural hospitals, including 28 in California, at risk of closure. If rural hospitals are forced to close, seniors, children, people with disabilities, cancer patients, and more, across California will lose access to necessary care.

Accessing local hospitals can make the difference between life and death, and save Californians Californians hours of travel to access critical care. Californians across the political spectrum want more access to health care, not less, but despite widespread opposition in the Central Valley and across California, Republicans are charging forward with their reckless spending bill. This will cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the ACA, throwing 16 million Americans off their coverage, forcing rural hospitals to close, and hiking premiums for over 24 million Americans. All to put more money in the pockets of the rich. Speakers will highlight the devastating impact of GOP cuts to Medicaid and reduced access to health care.

WHO:
U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán
Reyna Olaguez, CEO of Building Healthy Communities Kern
Kiran Savage-Sangwan, Executive Director of California Pan-Ethnic Health
Nataly Santamaria, Senior Manager for the Central Valley Promotora Network
Melissa Cedillo, Health Access California

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Friday, June 20th, at 10:00 AM PT

WHERE: Register to join the Zoom event (Registration required)

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In News

“Cruelty Is The Point”: Gov. Green, GA State Rep., and Arkansas Legal Aid Attorney Join Protect Our Care Calling Out Work Requirements As a GOP Ploy To Kick Millions Off Their Health Care

Watch the Full Event Here.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Governor Josh Green, M.D. (D-HI), Georgia State Representative Inga Willis and Kevin De Liban, a lawyer who successfully sued to stop Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirements program, joined Protect Our Care to discuss how the Republican scheme to impose work requirements will rip away health care from people who need it the most. Both Rep. Willis and De Liban know firsthand how ineffective and wasteful work requirements are through the failures of their respective state programs after thousands of people wrongfully lost their coverage.

Republicans in Congress are charging ahead with their spending bill to throw 16 million Americans off their health care in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Earlier this week, Senate Republicans unveiled their version of the GOP tax bill, exposing their scheme to cut more than $1 trillion from American health care. As part of this bill, Republicans want to impose new, onerous Medicaid work reporting requirements. Research and states like Georgia and Arkansas show that work reporting requirements are nothing more than bureaucratic red tape designed to throw people off their health care.

“The Republican bill will destroy and devastate the rural health care system across our country,” said Governor Josh Green, M.D. (D-HI). “If the hospital where I worked as the lone physician closed, my patients would have to drive 75 miles to get care elsewhere. Individuals would have to make the decision, do I drive to get care for their loved one who’s having a heart attack or wait for an ambulance to get to me and then to a town an hour away? Large, vast areas of America are going to have a more difficult time finding health care. It is utter madness to be taking health care away from our most vulnerable communities to make sure that millionaires get even richer.”

“My grandmother used to call it snake oil that was peddled by a charlatan,” said Georgia State Representative Inga Willis (D-55th District). “It appears to be such a great idea to promote a greater work ethic of people, but actually what you’re doing is making a process more cumbersome for the most vulnerable of our citizens, which leads me to believe that the cruelty is the point.”

“These aren’t hiccups – these are mass coverage losses done in a totally foreseeable, intended way,” said Attorney Kevin De Liban. “In only five months, 18,164 Arkansans lost coverage due to these penalties, and there were thousands more who lost coverage because of paperwork burdens that are associated with these penalties. Work requirements are not a serious proposal – it’s laughable and a joke. And the cost of that laughter is going to be millions and millions of low-income Americans without health care.”

“Work requirements are nothing but a cruel excuse to rip away lifesaving care from millions of people,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “All it does is bury people under mountains of paperwork and red tape until they lose their coverage and no one will be spared. Not only will older adults, people with disabilities, children, and working families lose coverage, but seniors will be thrown out of nursing homes, rural hospitals will shutter, and people with serious medical conditions like cancer will be forced to stop treatment. Republicans know what they are doing. This isn’t about requiring work, this is about weakening Medicaid.”

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In News

“This Affects All of Us”: Rep. Dingell, Former CMS Administrator Sound Alarm on GOP Plan to Raise Costs, Slash Care and Close Hospitals

Watch the Full Event Here.

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee and former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure joined Meena Bewtra with Doctors for America, and Protect Our Care as part of Save Our Hospitals Week. Republicans are doubling down on the largest health care cuts in history so they can fund tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations. 

Yesterday, Senate Republicans unveiled their version of the GOP tax bill, exposing that they aim to make even larger cuts to Medicaid. As a result, 16 million Americans will be at risk of losing life-saving health care coverage. Not only will hardworking families lose coverage, but 338 rural hospitals across the country will be at risk of shutting down. As a result, Americans across the country would have to travel further for care and face longer wait times. If Republicans succeed, they’ll strip care and vital services from small towns and rural communities across the country, force job cuts, cripple state economies, and throw our health care system into chaos. In light of Republican attacks on hospitals and health care, Protect Our Care released a new ad and report on the damage the Republicans’ tax bill would do to hospitals and vital services around the country.

“This bill is getting even uglier and the devastation it will cause for millions of Americans is getting even worse,” said U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06). “In many of our smaller towns, hospitals are the lifeblood of a community. They’re the largest employer and a source of pride. These are real human beings, and there are human stories behind so many people who are going to be impacted by this. People will have to drive further for routine and life-saving care. People won’t go to the doctor at all. This is the truth: people will die. We’re going to keep fighting to make sure every American understands what’s at stake.”

“When hospitals or hospital services shut down, we all lose access to lifesaving care,” said former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “There is never a time to enact the largest cut to both Medicaid and the marketplaces just to give more tax breaks to the rich. Doing so will destabilize our hospitals, which, in turn, would harm our healthcare workforce and economy. I urge the Senators to think about the harm this bill will have on our nation’s hospitals, especially rural ones and children’s hospitals, and the millions of healthcare workers who provide all of us with necessary life-saving care.”

“The cuts to health care that are part of this so-called big, beautiful bill will impact every single one of us,” said Meena Bewtra MD, PhD, MPH with Doctors for America. “The cost of health care will go up for everyone. Millions will simply be unable to afford health care or lose their coverage. Millions more will ration or skip important doctor visits or medications because the cost is too high. And even if you can afford health care, your hospital may simply no longer exist. This affects all of us, every single one of us, our children, our families, our neighbors, our communities. It doesn’t matter who you are or who you voted for, because health and sickness doesn’t care who you are.”

“The GOP bill is a handout to billionaires at the expense of families, small towns, and seniors who rely on hospitals as lifelines,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “If Republicans get their way, communities across the country will lose access to emergency rooms, cancer care, maternity wards, and more. Jobs will vanish, state economies will suffer, and our entire health care system will spiral into crisis. And yet every single Republican has lied to their constituents and caved by voting for this bill. During this Save Our Hospitals week, we’re making it clear that Americans are not going to sit by while Republicans dismantle their care to enrich the ultra-wealthy.”

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In News

PRESS CALL: As Senate Charges Ahead With GOP Tax Scam, Gov. Green, GA State Rep., Arkansas Legal Aid Attorney Join Protect Our Care to Explain How Work Requirements Are Designed To Kick Millions Off Their Health Care

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 18TH AT 4 PM ET***

Register for the Event Here.

Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 4 pm ET, Governor Josh Green, M.D. (D-HI), will join Protect Our Care to discuss how the GOP scheme to impose work requirements will rip away health care from people who need it the most. Joining Protect Our Care and Gov. Green on the call are Georgia State Representative Inga Willis and Kevin De Liban, a lawyer who successfully sued to stop Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirements program after thousands of people wrongfully lost their coverage. Both Rep. Willis and De Liban know firsthand how ineffective and wasteful work requirements are through the failures of their respective state programs.

Senate Republicans are charging ahead with their devastating tax scam that will kick millions off their health care in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. This week, Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee released bill text solidifying more than  $1 trillion cuts from American health care, largely by imposing new, onerous Medicaid work reporting requirements on hard-working Americans. If Republicans get their way, 16 million Americans will lose life-saving coverage. Research shows that work reporting requirements are nothing more than bureaucratic red tape designed to throw people off their health care. As a result, millions of sick children, people with disabilities, and seniors are at risk of losing lifesaving coverage. 

PRESS CALL:

WHO:
Governor Josh Green, M.D. (D-HI)
Georgia State Representative Inga Willis (D-55th District)
Kevin De Liban, long-time legal aid attorney in Arkansas and founder of TechTonic Justice
Leslie Dach, Chair of Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHERE: Register for the Event Here.

WHEN: Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 4 pm ET

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In Roundup, News

CRASH AND BURN: Opposition to Trump’s Big Ugly Bill Is Soaring the More People Learn About It

Americans Overwhelmingly Reject Trump’s Tax Scam As Senate Republicans Push Even Deeper Health Care Cuts

Yesterday, Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee released the full text of their version of Trump’s tax scam, making the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in history even larger to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. An estimated 16 million Americans would lose life-saving coverage under the House version, 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 – but Senate Republicans are pushing deeper cuts, even as polling shows that Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of Republicans’ massive health care cuts. Here’s the latest polling: 

KFF: Poll: Public Views “Big Beautiful Bill” Unfavorably by Nearly a 2-1 Margin.

  • Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the public holds unfavorable views of the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ passed last month by the House, nearly twice the share who view the bill favorably (35%), a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds… When people hear facts and arguments about the bill’s impact on health care, support shrinks and opposition grows, including among MAGA supporters. For example, after being told that the bill would decrease funding for local hospitals, the share with favorable views falls to 21% and unfavorable views rise to 79%. Similarly, after being told that the bill would increase the number of people without health insurance by about 10 million, support falls to 25% and opposition rises to 74%. Among MAGA supporters, support drops by more than 20 percentage points after hearing each of the two arguments, resulting in less than half in the group viewing the law favorably.”
  • “As Congress debates significant reductions in federal spending on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the poll finds the public views the two programs more favorably than ever before. Regarding Medicaid, 83% of the public now views the Medicaid program favorably, including large majorities of Democrats (93%), independents (83%), and Republicans (74%). That’s up from 77% in January, with the biggest jump occurring among Republicans. Unfavorable views of the program now stand at 17%, down from 23% in January. Similarly, two-thirds (66%) of the public now have favorable views of the ACA, the highest level of support recorded in KFF polls since the law’s enactment in 2010. Favorable views of the ACA have been on the rise since 2017 during an unsuccessful attempt by Congressional Republicans to repeal the law during President Trump’s first term.”

Navigator: Majorities Oppose Republicans in Congress’ Proposed Budget Plan.

  • “A majority of Americans (51 percent) now oppose the Republican budget plan following its passage in the House. Opposition outweighs support by 15 points, with just 36 percent supporting the GOP budget bill. Opposition to the bill has increased six points since May and has grown the most among independents.”
  • “Learning that additional tax cuts would benefit those who are already rich leads 55 percent of independents and a 43 percent plurality of non-MAGA Republicans to oppose the budget plan… Giving new tax breaks to the rich and big corporations is a dealbreaker for Americans across partisanship: 87 percent of Democrats, 73 percent of independents, and 51 percent of Republicans say they could not support an elected official who voted to give new tax breaks to the wealthy.”

Washington Post: GOP budget bill faces nearly 2-to-1 opposition with many unaware: Poll.

  • “…42 percent of Americans oppose the budget bill “changing tax, spending and Medicaid policies” that narrowly passed in May by the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, compared with 23 percent of Americans who support the bill…”
  • “…44 percent say it’s unacceptable for about 8 million people to lose health insurance as a result of these [work] requirements as well as more frequent eligibility verification and state restrictions, while 32 percent say this is acceptable. When new requirements are not specified, the poll finds 63 percent saying it’s unacceptable for 8 million people to lose Medicaid health insurance.”

AP-NORC: Few want spending reductions on federal benefit programs.

  • “A majority of adults think the federal government is already under-spending on key safety net programs including Medicare and Social Security. They also feel the country is not investing enough in education. Roughly half the public feel spending is too low for Medicaid and food and nutrition programs like SNAP.”
  • “More Republicans say the government is spending too little on Social Security and Medicare than say it’s spending too much.”

HEADLINES

USA Today: Bad news for Trump’s tax bill: Poll finds majority of Americans oppose it.

  • “…64 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of the proposed bill, which passed the House in May and is currently being tweaked in the Senate… Like the KFF poll, the Post found support and opposition for the bill fell along party lines: 49% of Republicans supported the bill, while just 17% of independents and 6% of Democrats did.”

KFF Health News: ‘MAGA’ Backers Like Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ — Until They Learn of Health Consequences.

  • “The poll finds two-thirds of the public — including the vast majority of Republicans (88%) and MAGA supporters (93%) and half (51%) of Democrats — initially support requiring nearly all adults on Medicaid to prove they are working or looking for work, in school, or doing community service, with exceptions such as for caregivers and people with disabilities. However, attitudes toward this provision shifted dramatically when respondents were presented with more information. For example, when told most adults with Medicaid are already working or unable to work, and that those individuals could lose coverage due to the challenge of documenting it, about half of supporters changed their view, resulting in nearly two-thirds of adults opposing Medicaid work requirements and about a third supporting them.”

NBC News: Poll: Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance as Republicans manage splits over spending plans.

  • “A slight majority of Americans (51%) said maintaining current spending levels on programs like Medicaid is the most important matter as Congress considers Trump-backed budget legislation this year… Democrats surveyed in the poll overwhelmingly said their priority is maintaining current spending levels on programs like Medicaid (79%), as do a slight majority of independents (53%).”

ABC News: AP-NORC poll: Many say Medicaid, food stamps underfunded amid GOP cuts push.

  • “Americans broadly support increasing or maintaining existing levels of funding for popular safety net programs, including Social Security and Medicare, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research… About half of U.S. adults say “too little” funding goes to Medicaid, which is a government health care coverage program for low-income people and people with certain disabilities… About 6 in 10 Americans say there is not enough government money going toward Social Security, Medicare or education broadly.”

NPR: Medicaid keeps getting more popular as Republicans aim to cut it by $800 billion.

  • “Three in 4 Republicans now say they view Medicaid favorably. That popularity boost comes as many more people are hearing about Republican cuts to Medicaid in the news… That budget bill is much less popular than Medicaid, the KFF poll found. Overall, 2 in 3 Americans have unfavorable views of the bill. Those who support President Trump do like the bill, but they also like Medicaid, Kirzinger says.”
  • “‘If you tell people that it would decrease funding for local hospitals, unfavorability increases to nearly 8 in 10. If you tell people it would increase the uninsured [population] by about 10 million people, unfavorability increases to 3 in 4.’ Republican lawmakers have downplayed the projected financial impact to rural hospitals and the number of people who could become uninsured, aiming to frame the proposed changes as targeting those who don’t deserve coverage.”
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