Washington, D.C. — Today, one week from the midterm elections, Protect Our Care is releasing a new report, This Is a Health Care Election: GOP Cuts Ripple Across the Nation as Voters Head to the Polls, laying out how health care will be Donald Trump and Republicans’ undoing. After passing the largest Medicaid cuts in history and ripping away Affordable Care Act tax credits to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations, Republicans are facing growing backlash as families lose coverage, costs skyrocket, and hospitals struggle to stay open.
Health care has dominated the campaign trail, even moving longtime Trump voters. Polling shows widespread concern about health care costs and coverage, with the public overwhelmingly trusting Democrats over Republicans to handle health care. In Texas, Cindy Banda is voting democrat for the first time because of her medical bills, despite backing Trump three times prior. Meanwhile, Republicans are lying through their teeth, claiming to protect health care despite voting for massive cuts, or trying to distance themselves from cuts they know are widely unpopular.
“Republicans want voters to forget what they did, but they can’t,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Every doctor’s bill, closed clinic, or premium notice is a reminder that Republicans chose billionaires over working people. Voters know Republicans gutted their health care, and no amount of rewriting the record before Election Day will change that. This is a health care election, and Republicans are going to answer for the crisis they created.”
Among the report’s key findings:
- Health Care Is the Top Concern for Voters. Rising costs and lost coverage are hitting families hard. 69% of Americans claim they are very concerned about the cost of health care, with around half of voters calling health care costs a major problem for their families, and voters overwhelmingly trust Democrats over Republicans to fix it. Majorities say health care will be an important factor in their midterm vote.
- Republicans Are Lying About Their Health Care Record. Republicans continue to try to lie to voters about the harm their vote for H.R. 1 will cause, which enacted historic cuts to Medicaid and ripped away health care tax credits. Representatives David Valadao (CA- 22) and Mike Lawler (NY-17) claim they are protecting Medicaid and Medicare, while 1.7 million and 550,000 people, respectively, in their states have lost Medicaid/CHIP and ACA coverage.
- The Consequences Are Already Being Felt Nationwide, Regardless of Insurance Plans, and Will Only Get Worse. In one year, 8 million Americans have lost their Medicaid, CHIP, or ACA coverage, and more than 1,250 hospitals, nursing homes, maternity wards, and other providers have closed, cut services, or face the risk of doing so. Families with employer-sponsored insurance are also facing rising premiums and out-of-pocket costs as hospitals absorb growing uncompensated care. Insurance companies have proposed another year of double-digit premium hikes as well.