Skip to main content
Category

Roundup

ashoup
In News, Roundup

ROUNDUP: As Senate GOP Races to Vote, The Country Won’t ‘Get Over It’ If Republicans Pass Their Historic Medicaid Cuts

This Week, Protect Our Care Held Events and Generated Coverage Across the Country, As a Lite-Brite, Mobile Billboard, and Projection on the RNC Put the Pressure on Washington Republicans As They Push This Bill Through the Senate

Protect Our Care supported partners’ actions across D.C., including a rally by SEIU members in front of the White House.

This week, Protect Our Care continued organizing advocates and everyday Americans around the country, as people across the political spectrum speak out against Trump and Congressional Republicans’ “Big, Ugly Bill”. While advocates and U.S. Representatives Don Davis (NC-01), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), and Nanette Barragán (CA-44) headlined local events across the states, Protect Our Care organized a projection on the RNC, a lite-brite on the Senate steps, and a mobile billboard featuring ads targeting six key GOP Senators to blast Washington Republicans as they race to pass their massive health care cuts. 

The GOP bill makes the largest health care cuts in history, slashing Medicaid and dismantling the Affordable Care Act in order to fund tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthy. Millions of 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. Not only will hardworking families lose their health care, but seniors will be forced to leave their nursing homes, people fighting cancer or addiction will lose access to critical treatment, and everyday Americans will face higher costs. Hundreds of rural hospitals would close, causing job cuts and hurting local economies. Poll after poll shows that Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly disapprove of this bill. As it heads to the Senate floor in the next few days, the country is counting on GOP Senators like Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, and Josh Hawley to stand up for everyday people instead of billionaires, and reject such devastating health care cuts.

D.C. ACTIONS

Protect Our Care’s mobile billboard which circled Capital Hill and the Mall on Friday, June 27, featuring ads targeting six key Senate Republicans: Lisa Murkowski (AK), Dan Sullivan (AK), Susan Collins (ME), Thom Tillis (NC), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), and Jim Justice (WV).

A lite-brite held on the Senate steps of the Capital on Thursday, June 26, telling Washington Republicans “Hands Off Health Care,” as the GOP Senate rushes to pass their devastating bill.

On Wednesday, June 25, Protect Our Care projected images onto the Republican National Committee in D.C. calling out Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) for their comments dismissing concerned constituents, revealing what Republicans are really thinking: They don’t care that their scheme to give tax breaks to the wealthy by slashing health care will hurt people. Instead, people who lose Medicaid so the rich can get richer will have to “get over it,” according to Mitch McConnell.

STATE EVENTS AND COVERAGE

ALASKA

  • Tuesday, June 24 – Medicaid Memorial Outside Senator Dan Sullivan’s Mat-Su Office with Alaska Caregivers, Mat-Su Residents and Mat-Su United for Progress
  • Wednesday, June 25 – Medicaid Memorial Outside Senator Dan Sullivan’s Anchorage Office with Alaska Caregivers, Patients and Anchorage Residents
  • Wednesday, June 25 – Medicaid Memorial Outside Senator Dan Sullivan’s Ketchikan Office with Alaska Caregivers and Ketchikan Residents
  • Thursday, June 26 – Vigil at Senator Sullivan’s Office with Advocates in Soldotna
  • Friday, June 27 – Vigil at Senator Sullivan’s Office with Advocates in Fairbanks

CALIFORNIA

  • Friday, June 20 – Congressman David Valadao Accountability Save Our Hospital Event with Congresswoman Nanette Barragán and Health Care Advocates.  

MAINE

  • Friday, June 27 at 12PM ET – Medicaid Hospital Closure Event with State Representative Annie Graham.

MISSOURI

  • Wednesday, June 25 – Rural Hospitals Event with State Senator Patty Smith and Health Care Advocates
    • St. Louis Dispatch: Missouri health providers and advocates raise alarms ahead of vote on ‘big, beautiful’ bill
    • Missouri Independent: Federal spending bill could be ‘devastating’ for Missouri Medicaid patients, rural hospitals
    • KRCG (CBS Columbia): Missouri rural areas may experience hospital closures, economic impacts from Medicaid cuts
    • Maryville Forum: Federal spending bill could be ‘devastating’ for Missouri Medicaid patients, rural hospitals
    • Columbia Missourian: Proposed cuts could impact access to Medicaid and rural hospitals
    • KRCG: Missouri officials sound the alarm on Medicaid cuts (also ran during the subsequent 10pm, 4am, and 6pm broadcasts)

NEW YORK 

  • Monday, June 23—SEIU “High Noon” Rallies at Hospitals Across the New York City Metro Area
    • ABC (Broadcast): Thousands of health care workers in New York area to rally against Medicaid cuts
    • ABC (Online): Thousands of health care workers in New York area to rally against Medicaid cuts
    • NYN First Media: June 23, 2025
    • Spectrum Noticias: Trabajadores de la salud protestan contra los cambios propuestos al Medicaid
    • BK Reader: Brooklyn Healthcare Workers Rally Against Possible Medicaid Cuts
    • Daily Voice: Thousands Of NY Hospital Workers Rally Against Health Care Cuts, Warn Of Closures
    • Finger Lakes 1: Medicaid cuts spark protests as hospitals brace for impact
    • QNS: Queens healthcare workers join statewide rally against federal Medicaid cuts, warn of hospital closures

NEW HAMPSHIRE

  • Wednesday, June 25 – Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander Joined Protect Our Care NH for Urgent Briefing on Threats to Medicaid and the ACA in New Hampshire

NORTH CAROLINA

  • Wednesday, June 25 – Rural Hospitals Event with Congressman Don Davis, State Senator Natalie Murdock, and Dr. David Hill
    • NC Newsline: NC Democratic lawmakers decry impact of GOP mega-bill on rural health care
    • WRAZ: Congressman Davis and Senator Murdock to discuss possible cuts to Medicaid
    • WNCT: Congressman Davis partners with Protect Our Care
ashoup
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.”
ashoup
In News, Roundup

HEADLINES: Pressure On Senate Republicans Heats Up As Coverage On Deadly Impacts of GOP Tax Bill Continues

As Republicans advance their tax scam through the Senate, recent headlines reveal growing concern over how the bill would devastate working families and the American health care system in order to fund massive tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy. The Republican bill includes the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in our nation’s history and would rip health care coverage away from 16 million Americans. Seniors would be forced out of nursing homes, rural economies and households would suffer while hospitals shut down, and people battling cancer and serious illness would lose lifesaving care. Meanwhile, Republican leaders continue to push outright lies, or tell people who rely on Medicaid to “prove that [they] matter,” while dismissing constituents’ worries with callous indifference. At a time when too many are struggling to make ends meet, Senate Republicans must stand up and reject cuts that benefit billionaires on the backs of everyday Americans.

Forbes: AMA: Doctors And Patients Hurt By Republican ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ 

  • “The American Medical Association says legislation wending its way through the Republican-controlled Congress would ‘take us backward’ as a country by cutting health benefits for low-income Americans.”

The Washington Post: Opinion: The GOP Bill Cutting Medicaid Could Mean More Than 100,000 Deaths 

  • “To take the most conservative of these three research teams’ work suggests this uptick in the uninsured population will translate to about 100,000 more avoidable deaths over the next decade. (That number is well over 140,000 if we include the impact of the expiring credits.)”

The Hill: What’s A Medicaid Cut? Senate GOP Tiptoes Around $800B Question

  • “‘The people losing coverage aren’t people who aren’t working … but they’re actually people who should satisfy the work reporting or should qualify for an exemption, but they can’t navigate the complex systems for either reporting one’s hours for work or other activities,’ said Edwin Park, a research professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. The legislation includes some exemptions, like for caregiving, but it doesn’t specify what would qualify or how beneficiaries would prove they qualify.”

Newsweek: Nurses Were Covid Heroes. Now They’re Being Squeezed By Medicaid Cuts

  • “Patients can’t afford care, so they put it off, and they come into hospitals much sicker than they ever were. The looming Medicaid cuts will only make this worse. NYSNA nurses are trying to hold hospitals accountable and also do as much as possible on the policy front to expand access to care.”

Huffington Post: 5 Absurd Ways Republicans Are Defending Kicking People Off Medicaid 

  • Experts don’t matter. Prove you are worthy of health care. We’re all going to die anyway. Somehow, these are actual arguments GOP lawmakers and officials have been making as they try to gloss over the pain their bill would impose on poor people and families while handing big tax breaks to mostly rich people.

The Washington Post: Republicans Worry Medicaid Cuts Would Hurt Their Communities, Poll Finds 

  • “About 3 in 4 GOP Medicaid recipients were worried federal cuts to the program would hurt their ability to receive and pay for health care for themselves and their families, the poll found. Those concerns are not limited to people enrolled in the program. Nearly a third of all Republicans and 26 percent of MAGA Republicans had the same worries about their own access to health care if Medicaid is cut, the survey showed.”

Newsweek: Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Suffers Blow 

  • “A new poll found that most people believe that President Donald Trump’s signature spending bill will primarily benefit wealthy individuals while harming middle-class and low-income individuals…60 percent of respondents believe the bill will benefit wealthy individuals, and 7 percent think it will hurt them.

The Dallas Morning News: The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Contains Some Ugly Medicaid Cuts 

  • “The bill will cut some $716 billion from Medicaid over 10 years (according to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of an earlier, less punitive version), primarily by pushing an estimated 8 million people off of the program entirely. Several million more are projected to lose insurance due to cuts to the Affordable Care Act. Studies of Medicaid recipients, however, don’t find anywhere near 8 million people receiving benefits without working or qualifying for a legitimate exemption. The spending cuts, and losses in coverage, depend on raising the “time tax” paid by Medicaid recipients to the point where many will lose coverage they would normally qualify for.”

The New York Times: Opinion: When Arkansas Embraced Medicaid Work Requirements, Chaos Ensued 

  • “We saw many working people face similar challenges. Our clients ran the gamut of low-wage work: fast food workers, restaurant dishwashers and servers, construction workers, janitors, landscapers, motel cleaners, gas station clerks and nursing assistants. Many had disabilities, and their ability to continue working depended on getting treatment to manage chronic pain, asthma, injuries, cancer and mental health conditions. Some lost coverage simply because they couldn’t navigate the policy’s complicated requirements and labyrinthine reporting process. Others lost insurance because of the instability of low-wage work: Bosses cut their hours or laid them off without warning, limited public transit narrowed their options or they lived in struggling rural areas where jobs were hard to come by. When the state cut them off, their health worsened and many lost jobs, as well as the ability to work new ones.”

Des Moines Register: Opinion: I Lived The Gift Of Medicaid. It Made My Daughter’s 14 Months Possible. 

  • “The people most affected by these cuts will be single mothers doing their very best to raise their children. I know these families. They come to church for preschool and childcare before visiting the food pantry down the street. Our most vulnerable are worthy of care and Medicaid. They are not a bottom line on a budget spreadsheet aimed at funding tax breaks for the wealthy.”

MSNBC: Trump’s Interest In Medicare Cuts Is A Warning About Social Security Too 

  • “Not satisfied with massive reductions to Medicaid, GOP lawmakers — with the president’s support — now have Medicare in their sights, according to NBC News. That would mean cuts to two of the U.S. government’s three big entitlement programs, and Republicans’ talking points could just as easily be turned against the third entitlement: Social Security.”

The Guardian: Opinion: Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill Is Built On Falsehoods About Low-Income Families 

  • “Here’s the reality check: a majority of those receiving this aid who can work are already working. More than 70% of working-age people who receive nutrition benefits or Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income children and adults that covers one in five Americans, are already working, according to the Government Accountability Office. Those who aren’t working, research shows, are mostly ill, disabled, caring for a family member, or in school.”

Daily Kos: Americans See Big Pain In Trump’s ‘Beautiful Bill’ 

  • “A new YouGov poll for CBS News finds that a plurality of Americans (47%) think the legislation, if enacted, will hurt middle-class people, and a majority (54%) thinks it will hurt poor people. Additionally, a plurality of 43% say the bill will hurt them and their family.”
ashoup
In News, Roundup

COVERAGE: Republican Tax Scam Cuts Over A Trillion From American Health Care, 16 Million Will Lose Coverage

Yesterday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released updated analysis on Republicans’ tax bill and confirmed 16 million Americans will be kicked off their health care, including kids, people with disabilities, seniors, and working families. This bill slashes over $1 trillion in American health care – the largest health care cut in American history – in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Despite their empty promises to protect health care or lower prices, Donald Trump and Republicans are going to force seniors out of nursing homes, shutter rural hospitals, cause health care costs to skyrocket, and rip life-saving coverage away from millions.

Bloomberg: Health Coverage for 16 Million Said at Risk With GOP Plan.

  • “The number of people in the US without health insurance is poised to increase by 16 million by 2034 under Republican plans for spending cuts, the Congressional Budget Office estimated… The reconciliation bill alone—which the GOP plans to pass using a budget mechanism without needing Democrats’ support—would lead to around 11 million more people without insurance. CBO estimates that proposed Medicaid work requirements for adults aged 19 to 64 without dependents would increase the number of uninsured by 4.8 million by 2034.”

ABC News: “The CBO Projects Overall a Total of 16 Million People Could Potentially Go Uninsured Over the Next Decade.”

  • “The bill narrowly passed the House in May, but now some GOP members are signaling regret on their stamp of approval… The president has lashed out at GOP senators who are threatening to complicate its path forward, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Paul, who is specifically taking issue with the deficit, told ABC News following Trump’s attacks that he’s been “consistent” about his view from the start. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, has been critical of the bill the House passed to the Senate because it adds to the deficit.”
  • “‘The more you look at the bill, the worse it gets,’ [Senator Chuck] Schumer said. He slammed the impact the changes to Medicaid are projected to have on people’s health insurance as well as on rural hospitals and nursing homes. ‘People will fall through the cracks and get phased out of coverage in the coming years. Death by 1,000 paper cuts. That’s the intention of the Republican bill,’ he said.”

Modern Healthcare: “The Combined Effects of Those Policies and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Would Result in 16 Million More Uninsured People.”

  • “The Republican tax-and-spending-cuts legislation speeding through Congress would take more than $1 trillion out of the healthcare system over a decade, according to an analysis the Congressional Budget Office published Wednesday… Medicaid would be subject to the lion’s share of the cuts and see its federal budget diminish by $864 billion. The work requirement provisions alone would reduce spending by $344 billion… The CBO projects that the Medicaid cuts and other policies would lead to 10.9 million people becoming uninsured, including 7.8 million who would lose Medicaid benefits.”

Stat News: “16 Million People Could Become Uninsured Over a Decade.”

  • “Overall, the bill increases the federal deficit by $2.4 trillion over a decade, thanks to its extension of Trump’s tax cuts and the enactment of new ones. Extending lower tax rates alone costs $2.2 trillion over a decade, for example. The bill includes cuts to federal spending on health coverage of more than $1 trillion.”
  • “About 7.8 million people would lose Medicaid coverage, while much of the rest of the losses would stem from the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges. Among those losing coverage would be 1.4 million immigrants and others who don’t have, or can’t prove, a legal status that would give them access to insurance… The CBO report doesn’t account for another looming change to health care: enhanced premium tax credits that help people buy ACA coverage are set to expire at the end of the year. The bill does not renew them. The Trump administration has separately estimated that 4.4 million would lose coverage without the tax credits.”

Washington Examiner: “This Would Be the Biggest Rollback in Federal Support for Health Care Ever.”

  • “Democrats and a handful of Republicans have pushed back on the bill’s healthcare provisions, particularly the institution of work requirements for certain Medicaid recipients. Changes to Medicaid and Obamacare in the Energy and Commerce Committee portion of the bill would result in 9.1 million uninsured people, while the Ways and Means provisions would result in 2.3 million newly uninsured people by 2034. The overlap between the programs reduces the uninsured rate by half a million, for a grand total of 10.9 million uninsured people by 2034.”

Splinter: Trump and the GOP’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Fails Its Final CBO Score.

  • “Digging into the human costs reveals how it is even more heinous, as the CBO says it would increase the uninsured population by 10.9 million people over the next ten years. Republicans are lying about how this will throw people off Medicaid by saying that undocumented immigrants are receiving benefits when we know that is not true. This bill is an explicit attempt to take Medicaid away from people in order to partially pay for tax cuts for billionaires that will still blow out the deficit and raise borrowing costs for everyone. In true Republican fashion, many of these empty suits are now lamenting their vote in favor of this calamitous bill they clearly did not read.”
  • “The Yale School of Public Health sent a letter to Democrats warning that this bill could kill 51,000 Americans each year… 15 million people would lose health care coverage because of this GOP bill, and there is enough evidence before you get to Republican Senator Joni Ernst’s gleeful reaction to people dying to suggest that Republicans are happy to accept killing tens of thousands of people in order to give tax cuts to the wealthiest people in America. This is their agenda.”

Economic Policy Institute: “[Republicans] Chose to Slash Programs Helping Some of the Most Vulnerable Families.”

  • “This direct transfer of income from vulnerable families to the richest can be summarized in a striking symmetry: If the bill becomes law, the annual cuts to Medicaid would average over $70 billion in coming years—the same amount millionaires and billionaires would gain in tax cuts each year.”
  • “These health care spending cuts would lead directly to millions of people losing health insurance… the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated coverage losses of at least 15 million… a disproportionate share of the House bill’s Medicaid cuts would almost surely fall exactly on these weaker local economies. We estimate that roughly 27 million workers are in these weaker local economies, and that Medicaid cuts could depress local spending enough to force the loss of 850,000 jobs.”

Nasdaq: “Health Insurance Coverage for Millions of Americans Hangs in the Balance.”

  • “Under the deal passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last month, policy analysts are estimating between 10.9 million and 15 million people would lose access to their health insurance plans over the course of the budget window, which extends to 2034… Several million more are also expected to lose their health insurance coverage through changes to the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, combined with sunsetting provisions that the GOP megabill does not extend.”

The Hill: “House Republicans Rushed to Vote on This Bill Without an Accounting From CBO on the Millions of People Who Will Lose Their Health Care.”

  • “Nearly 11 million people would lose health insurance under the House Republican tax bill, mostly due to cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO’s latest report estimates that 10.9 million people would be uninsured over the next decade if the spending package, which includes much of President Trump’s legislative agenda, were enacted.”
  • “Republicans are likely to downplay the significance of the analysis… Some GOP senators have expressed concerns about some of the Medicaid provisions and say they won’t support the bill without changes.”

CBS News: “Federal Spending on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act Would Be Reduced by $902 Billion Over a Decade.”

  • “House Republicans are aiming to cut at least $1.5 trillion in spending to offset trillions in tax cuts, while also raising the debt ceiling by $4 trillion. The CBO projection puts the spending cuts at about $1.2 trillion over the next decade, with the tax cuts totaling just under $3.7 trillion. The national debt currently stands at roughly $36 trillion, according to the Treasury Department…  Though Republicans vowed to protect Medicaid benefits and have framed cuts to the program as trimming ‘waste, fraud and abuse,’ the analysis found that the portion of the bill dealing with Medicaid would mean 7.8 million fewer people being enrolled in the safety net program.”

The Wall Street Journal: “Most People, Republicans and Democrats Alike, Want Medicaid Funding to Stay the Same or Increase.”

  • “The 10.9 million figure is an increase from an earlier CBO estimate Republicans released last month. That earlier number pegged the newly uninsured at 7.6 million. The GOP plan thins the rolls by adding more eligibility checks and work requirements for Medicaid recipients. It also makes it more difficult to sign up for Affordable Care Act plans… Cutting Medicaid is unpopular. A March KFF poll found that most people, Republicans and Democrats alike, want Medicaid funding to stay the same or increase”
ashoup
In News, Roundup

HEADLINES: Republicans Face Blowback For Slashing Medicaid After Passing Devastating Budget Bill

The Pressure Is On Republican Senators to Reject House Reconciliation Bill and Protect Health Care for Everyday Americans

As the Republican reconciliation bill moves to the Senate this week, reporting highlights the mountain of opposition this bill faces in the upper chamber. The bill, which House Republicans passed last week, includes the largest Medicaid cuts in history and effectively dismantles the Affordable Care Act through massive funding cuts, new rules and restrictions, and the elimination of premium tax credits. With this bill, Republicans want to make unprecedented health care cuts – and drive up costs and strip coverage and care from millions of middle- and low-income Americans – so they can give massive tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and corporations. Seniors will be forced out of their nursing homes, rural hospitals will close, cancer patients and children with disabilities will lose lifesaving care, and working families will face the impossible choice of going to the doctor or putting food on the table. As we continue to learn more about all the damage this bill will cause, coverage makes it clear that the political consequences of such drastic health care cuts are becoming insurmountable. 

PBS News: How The GOP’s Proposed Medicaid Cuts Could Affect Millions Of Family Caregivers

  • “The House bill, if enacted, would reshape how care is provided in this country in a couple of key ways. One, it’ll force states to make decisions about its Medicaid program and what to fund because of reduced funding. Usually historically, what is first on the chopping block are those home and community based services. So it’ll be harder to access those essential home and community based services. Second is work requirements. Really strict work requirements would add a really steep administrative burden onto the shoulders of family caregivers. Family caregivers who are already navigating really complicated bureaucracy. And then third will be a loss of health care coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 14 million folks will lose health care coverage. We know that over 4 million Americans are family caregivers who rely on Medicaid for their own health care coverage. So that’s at stake.”

Rolling Stone: Trump Adviser Admits Republican Tax Bill Makes Huge Cuts to Medicaid 

  • “President Donald Trump and Republican leaders keep pretending they aren’t cutting Medicaid with their new tax bill, which will further enrich the wealthy and pay for it in part by significantly slashing Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans. Trump, who has repeatedly promised to protect Medicaid, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have both claimed that Republicans are simply targeting “waste, fraud, and abuse” in their tax bill, which passed the House last week. David Sacks, who is serving as Trump’s “AI and crypto czar,” put the Medicaid situation more plainly Saturday on his All In podcast: ‘This bill cuts $880 billion from Medicaid over a decade.’”

The Washington Post: GOP-backed Medicaid cuts could affect more than House races next year 

  • “With a handful of House Republicans either running for governor or seriously considering bids, Democrats believe their votes on this bill could play a major role in elections far beyond congressional campaigns next year. The Democratic Governors Association issued a statement moments after the bill’s passage calling out the 10 Republicans running or considering running for governor, arguing that voters in each state ‘will hold them accountable for their toxic agenda at the ballot box next November.’”

Axios: ACA Rollback Becomes Key Part Of Reconciliation

  • “Although much of the attention has been on the bill’s Medicaid provisions, the final House draft called for an overhaul of ACA marketplaces that would result in coverage losses and savings for the government. The bill would end automatic reenrollment in ACA plans for people getting subsidies, instead requiring them to proactively reenroll and resubmit information on their incomes for verification. It would also prevent enrollees from provisionally receiving ACA subsidies in instances where extra eligibility checks are needed, which can take months. If people wound up making more income than they had estimated for a given year, the bill removes the cap on the amount of ACA subsidies they would have to repay to the government.
  • In a letter to Congress, patient groups pointed to the various barriers as “unprecedented and onerous requirements to access health coverage” that would have “a devastating impact on people’s ability to access and afford private insurance coverage.” The letter was signed by groups including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Diabetes Association and American Lung Association.”

PolitiFact: Trump Said GOP Bill Only Targets Medicaid ‘Fraud and Abuse.’ That’s False.

  • “The House passed the bill Thursday and it now moves to the Senate, where it could be changed. The House version doesn’t directly target Social Security or Medicare. But it changes Medicaid, including in ways that align with Republican priorities. Congress’ nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that at least 8.6 million people will lose coverage because of the changes. ‘Relatively little of the bill is clearly related to trying to reduce fraud or error,’ said Leighton Ku, director of George Washington University’s Center for Health Policy Research. ‘There are some minor provisions about things like looking for dead people who are enrolled or checking addresses. But the major provisions are not fraud, waste or error by any means. They’re things that reflect policy preferences of the Republican architects.’”

Senator Murkowski Calls Medicaid Provisions “Very, Very, Very Challenging If Not Impossible.” 

  • “Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has said she’s worried about kicking Medicaid recipients who are unable to work off the program as well as the bill’s effect on rural hospitals. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she is worried that her state will struggle to put in place new work requirements because of its outdated Medicaid payment systems. ‘There are provisions in there that are very, very, very challenging if not impossible for us to implement,’ Murkowski said.” 
  • “Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), who has vowed to oppose the bill if it cuts Medicaid benefits, said he has concerns about new Medicaid co-pays, which he dubbed a “sick tax.” He’s also worried about the House bill’s freeze on provider taxes, which states use to help fund their Medicaid programs and wring more matching funds from Washington. Missouri’s provider taxes are relatively low right now, putting it at a disadvantage. ‘If you fool around with that provider tax in my state, you really risk getting to benefit cuts,’ Hawley said.”

The Daily Beast: Trump Adviser Says the Quiet Part Out Loud on Medicaid Cuts

  • “The admission from Sacks came as he defended Trump for not pushing for additional spending cuts in the bill, which the entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, the podcast’s co-host, said he wanted to see done. Sacks said Trump did not have the House votes needed to push through for more cuts, but Calacanis countered that the president has never been shy about bullying his way into getting what he wants. Calacanis’ co-host, Canadian-American venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, was also puzzled that the bill’s only cuts are to Medicaid. ‘The level of financial illiteracy in this bill will come back to bite America in the a–,’ he said. ‘Period.’”

Matt Yglesias in Bloomberg: GOP Budget “Will Slash Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars in Medicaid Spending, Costing Millions Of Americans Their Health Insurance”  

  • “Politically, the toughest thing in the BBB is that it will slash hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending, costing millions of Americans their health insurance. There’s no other way to make the math work…Republican leaders have learned time and again over the years that House moderates always fold. In the past Senate Republican moderates — notably Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski — have bucked the party line on key votes and even killed major pieces of legislation. But there are no comparable examples of House moderates sticking to their guns in recent years.”

Congresswoman Alma Adams in Newsweek: I Remember a World Without Medicaid. We Can’t Go Back.

  • “Despite working full time, my mother still couldn’t afford health insurance and there was no Medicaid for her to fall back on. My sister had sickle-cell disease which, if you don’t know, is a rare hereditary disease that can cause excruciating pain. Growing up, I spent many late nights in the ER with my sister as she navigated her debilitating condition. I often think what a difference it would have made to have health insurance. My sister wouldn’t have suffered as much if she had access to comprehensive care and treatment. My mother wouldn’t have had to work herself to exhaustion to provide for us…Government programs like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, housing vouchers—they exist to ensure that every American has the foundation they need to build a life of dignity and opportunity. Yet, Republicans are putting these programs on the chopping block to fund their trillion-dollar tax cuts to billionaires.”

MSNBC: House Republicans Vote To Defund Hundreds Of Planned Parenthood Clinics

  • “Donald Trump and the Republicans’ budget bill could take reproductive health care access away from more than 1.1 million Planned Parenthood patients. Carrie Baker, professor of Women and Gender Studies at Smith College, joins MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss the consequences Republican Medicaid cuts will have on low-income Americans: ‘more people will end up with unwanted pregnancies … they won’t have access to cancer screenings.’” 

The Washington Post: The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Is A Big Risk For House Republicans. Many Of Them Hope Otherwise. 

  • “The Congressional Budget Office reports that those in the lowest 10 percent of the income scale would see their resources reduced while those in the highest 10 percent would see them increased. Various estimates say the measure would add about $3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, a bitter pill for deficit-conscious Republicans. The bond markets have responded poorly.”

Politico: Dems roll out ads hitting Republicans on Medicaid

  • “‘The core argument in the midterms and the TLDR on this budget is it’s the largest cut to Medicaid in history,’ said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist. ‘As people find that out, they know it’s not a nipping or tucking of the program, it’s a fucking of the people on it.’ Democrats see Republicans as vulnerable on the issue with their own base. In 2024, Trump built his winning coalition, in part, on growing support among working class voters across racial groups — a reality emphasized by Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser, who warned Republicans in February to be careful around Medicaid cuts because there are “a lot of MAGAs on Medicaid.” A Morning Consult analysis found that Trump won more Medicaid beneficiaries, 49 percent, than Kamala Harris, who won 47 percent of them. Trump told Republican House members this week to not ‘fuck around with Medicaid.’”
ashoup
In Roundup

HEADLINES: House Republicans Bulldoze Health Care For Millions of Americans To Fund Tax Breaks for The Rich

Early this morning, House Republicans voted to pass their reviled spending bill with the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. National reporting highlights how this bill will raise costs and leave millions of Americans without life-saving health care coverage by gutting Medicaid and dismantling the ACA. Every single community across the country will feel the devastating effects of these cuts.

So-called moderate Republicans charged ahead with the radical bill that will force seniors out of nursing homes, jeopardize the health care of half of all children in America, take lifesaving care away from people with disabilities, and insert provisions that could trigger as many as nine states to end Medicaid expansion entirely. Nearly 14 million Americans are already expected to lose health care because of this bill, but with House 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. 

The New Republic: House Republicans Just Touched the Third Rail

  • “House Republicans, as they rushed early Thursday morning to cut not quite $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next 10 years, were at best only dimly aware of this. They’re in for a terrible shock.”
  • “But today, Medicaid commands not merely a significant voting bloc, but a significant Republican voting bloc. Not many House Republicans wished to hear about that when they passed the budget reconciliation bill, 215–214.”

Rolling Stone: Trump Gloats Over Passage of Bill That Will Kick Millions Off Medicaid, Food Aid

  • “Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed the House of Representatives early Thursday morning, and the president couldn’t be more thrilled about being one step closer to kicking millions of Americans off of their health care coverage and food assistance programs.”
  • ““In 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 during one session. “It’s because you know this bill betrays the people who voted for you.””

Mother Jones: House GOPers Just Voted for the Biggest Medicaid Cuts in History—After Promising to Protect It.

  • “House Republicans whose seats are not safe in the 2026 midterm elections voted early on Thursday morning to advance the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, endangering health care for millions of the poorest Americans. Several cast these votes after making promises to protect the Great Society program that provides health care to millions.”
  • “But the bill Republicans just passed is classic GOP: Cut vital benefits for the poor to line the pockets of the rich.”

MSNBC: It’s Not Just Medicaid: Why the Republicans’ Bill Would Likely Force Medicare Cuts, Too

  • “Despite Donald Trump’s promise not to cut the health care program, the GOP legislation would cut roughly $700 billion from Medicaid in the coming years, and with just hours remaining before the bill reached the floor, party leaders added new and punitive Medicaid provisions to shore up support from far-right members. But as important as the future of Medicaid is, the legislation’s impact on Medicare matters, too.”
  • “The CBO told the House that the Republicans’ reconciliation package would lead to $500 billion in cuts to Medicare, and two days later, 215 House Republicans voted for it anyway.”

Forbes: More Than 7 Million Could Lose Medicaid In House Megabill Approved Thursday: Here’s What To Know

  • “President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” in the final hour to move up the start date for Medicaid work requirements and prohibit Medicaid for gender-affirming care.”
  • “It would implement additional “eligibility and enrollment” rules, including new address verification standards, provider screening requirements and penalties for states that offer coverage to undocumented migrants. The section addressing “wasteful spending” calls for a prohibition on funding for gender transition procedures for both adults and minors under the federal Medicaid program and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). One of the ways the bill aims to tamp down on “abusive financing practices” is via a moratorium on new or increased provider taxes states collect to help pay for Medicaid expenses that aren’t covered by the federal government; proponents of the freeze argue states sometimes use the provider taxes to also pay providers, allowing states to report more Medicaid expenses and boost the matching funds they receive from the federal government. The legislation would increase “personal accountability,” primarily by mandating new “community engagement” requirements for Medicaid recipients to log at least 80 hours per month of work, community service or a work program, or be enrolled in an educational program for at least 40 hours per month—representing the largest Medicaid-related cuts in the megabill, according to the CBO.”

Common Dreams: ‘Call This What It Is—Theft’: Republicans Approve Largest Medicaid, SNAP Cuts in US History

  • “If enacted, the House GOP’s legislation would slash roughly $1 trillion combined from Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), potentially stripping health coverage and food aid from tens of millions of low-income Americans to help fund trillions of dollars in tax cuts that would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest. The bill, which runs over 1,100 pages, would also trigger cuts to Medicare.”
  • “”Let’s call this what it is—theft,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the House Rules Committee. “Stealing from those with the least to give to those with the most. It’s not just bad policy, it’s a betrayal of the American people.””

USA Today: House Passes Trump’s Deficit-Swelling Tax Bill, With Big Medicaid Changes

  • “Democrats have slammed the bill as a giveaway to the wealthy at the expense of people who benefit from social safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP. “This is one big, ugly bill that House Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of the American people under the cover of darkness,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, said on the House floor in an early morning speech before the final vote.”
  • “Medicaid, the program that provides health insurance to more than 71 million low-income Americans, would undergo big changes. That includes new work requirements for adults enrolled in Medicaid expansion beginning in December of 2026, more frequent eligibility checks, and disincentives for states to cover unauthorized migrant children, among other provisions.”

The New York Times: Republicans Pass Strictest Medicaid Work Requirement They’ve Ever Put Forward

  • “The work requirement in the bill that just passed the House represents the strictest version Republicans in Congress have ever put forward. The reporting requirements are more stringent than in previous bills. It would be easier to lose benefits, and harder to re-enroll. And it would apply to a larger set of Medicaid recipients, including Americans previously determined to be too old to need such requirements.”
  • “Republican leadership has described the policy as combating “waste, fraud, and abuse.” President Trump has said no one will lose health insurance under the legislation. But experts say it would leave millions uninsured.”

HuffPost: Opinion: Sneaky New Move By Shameless Republicans Puts Millions Of American Lives In Danger.

  • “In the clearest sign that Republicans know what they are doing is not just wrong but shameful, they waited until late at night on Mother’s Day to release the text of Trump’s devastating “big, beautiful bill” that would gut Medicaid, hoping it would go unnoticed. Then, continuing the pattern of wanting to avoid attention, the GOP convened a meeting under the cover of darkness to debate the bill, whose funding cuts likely would take Medicaid away from my daughter and millions of other people with disabilities who rely on the essential program. Despite the gravity of the late-night meeting for millions of Americans, at least one GOP congressman slept through part of the discussion, seemingly unbothered by the deadly consequences for constituents in his district and beyond, including my own daughter.”
ashoup
In News, Roundup

Medicaid Awareness Month: Protect Our Care, Americans From All Walks of Life Urge Republicans to Abandon Cuts to Medicaid At Events Across the Country

Thursday, April 24 – SEIU Disability Week of Action Medicaid Rally in David Valadao’s District

Thursday, April 24 – SEIU Disability Week of Action Medicaid Rally in David Valadao’s District

Senators Tammy Baldwin, Ruben Gallego, and Peter Welch; Representatives Gwen Moore, Mark Pocan, Bobby Scott, George Latimer, Robert Garcia, Lateefah Simon, Paul Tonko, and Betty McCollum; Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords Headlined Events Across the Nation

As the eighth annual Medicaid Awareness Month comes to a close, Medicaid is under fire like never before as Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress pursue the largest cuts in history to fund tax cuts for the rich. Throughout the month, Protect Our Care released fact sheets, placed op-eds, launched new ads, and hosted more than 30 nationwide events with 14 members of Congress alongside state and local elected officials and Medicaid providers and patients. Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, providing coverage and affordable health care for over 70 million Americans, including people from all backgrounds. Despite providing critical services for millions of Americans, these MAGA efforts jeopardize health care just to fund massive tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations. Research shows that, if Trump and Republicans get their way, millions will lose their health care, costs will go up, and people will die. 

Alongside partners, lawmakers, and other advocates, Protect Our Care is continuing to work to defend Medicaid from these ruthless Republican-led attacks. Read more about Protect Our Care’s “Hands Off Medicaid” campaign here. 

Medicaid Awareness Month Fact Sheets

New Ads

ALASKA

Frontiersman: Opinion: Medicaid Saved My Son’s Life: Cutting It Would Destroy Ours. 

  • “And yet, even with Medicaid, we are constantly on the edge. Zak qualifies for 20 hours of in-home support, 12 hours of community day programs, 10 hours of personal care assistant support, and 10 hours of respite per week—but due to staffing shortages and Medicaid billing restrictions, we haven’t had more than 30–40 of those hours billed in total since 2020. The rest? That’s me—unpaid labor from a mother who also provides his private insurance coverage.”

Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: Trump’s Threat to the Alaska Economy. 

  • “Along with Essential Air Service and Bypass Mail, Medicaid-funded travel is part of what allows rural air carriers to stay open and serve rural communities,” Fields writes. “With Elon Musk and his supporters targeting Essential Air Service and Bypass Mail, many of our rural communities face the real risk of losing most, if not all, air service.” 

Friday, April 11 – Medicaid Awareness Month/SEIU Caregiver Event with SEIU 775 Members Shirley Johnson and Shanah Kinison: Caregivers and SEIU 775 members Shirley Johnson and Shanah Kinison joined Protect Our Care Alaska to discuss their recent trip to DC to speak with Senator Dan Sullivan about the importance of Medicaid to Alaska seniors and people with disabilities, and to deliver the clear message: “don’t cut Medicaid.” Both Johnson and Kinison pushed back on the senator’s repeated references to “fraud, waste, and abuse” in Medicaid, urging him to focus instead on the lives that would be upended by cuts to care. “I asked him directly, ‘Am I fraud? Am I waste?’” said Shanah Kinison, a Haines Caregiver, who cares for a medically fragile teen living in the Tlingit village of Klukwan. “Medicaid pays for my job. Medicaid pays for my health care. I don’t feel like a waste.” You can watch the full event here, and read the post-event release here. 

Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: Thanks to Sen. Murkowski for Supporting Medicaid. 

  • “As a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations and Health committees, you know that Medicaid is critical for treating opioid addiction, and that Medicaid cuts would also disproportionately affect communities of color, which are more likely to rely on Medicaid for health access due to historic inequities and current economic realities” McGee writes. “I’m grateful to have a leader who understands the importance of this critical program and who has pledged to protect the program going forward. So-called “block grant” proposals and other cuts would have long-lasting negative effects here in Alaska and elsewhere.”

Monday, April 21 – SEIU “Medicaid Monday” Event with SEIU Caregivers, Clients and Community Members outside Nick Begich’s Anchorage Office: SEIU Caregivers, clients, and community members allied outside Representative Nick Begich’s Anchorage office today to deliver a powerful message: their work is essential, and it’s time lawmakers treated it that way. The rally was organized in response to proposed Medicaid cuts that would harm Alaskans who rely on home- and community-based care. Participants shared their stories and called on lawmakers to protect the services that allow seniors and people with disabilities to live with dignity and independence.  “We’re here to fight for our families, our jobs, and our clients,” said Sasha Johnson, a caregiver and frontline advocate. “We are NOT waste—our work isn’t wasteful, our clients aren’t waste, and our experience isn’t a waste. Matter of fact, we SAVE the government so much money, and that’s what we came to say.” You can read the post-event release here. 

Thursday, April 24 – Medicaid Day of Action Community Conversation with Alaska Advocates in Anchorage: Stand UP Alaska, Alaska March On, Protect Our Care Alaska, Action Alaska, and various partner organizations hosted a community conversation to highlight how Medicaid is under threat for Alaskans and urged Representative Nick Begich and Senators Sullivan and Murkowski to take action and protect the program.  Community members discussed what cuts to Medicaid would mean for them and their community, and the event brought together labor leaders, small business owners, organizers, and artists. 

Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: Health Care Is Sacred. As Christian, Jewish and Muslim Leaders in Alaska, We Urge That Medicaid Be Protected. 

  • “We must all raise our voices to ensure Medicaid remains strong and intact. Elected officials need to hear from the people whose lives depend on it. And they need to understand: health care is not a luxury. It is a right. In one of the richest states in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, no one should die from something that costs $30 to treat. Medicaid saves lives. And as people of faith, as Alaskans, and as human beings — we must protect it.” 

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Opinion: Alaskans Rally Behind Support of Title X and Medicaid. 

  • “Access to abortion is already increasingly challenging across the country, and Alaska only has two public providers of abortion left — the Planned Parenthood health centers in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Alaskans deserve access to lifesaving abortion care without any further barriers, and we hope the Alaska delegation will stand with the overwhelming majority of Alaskans who support access to this critical health care.” 

ARIZONA

Monday, April 21 – Medicaid Panel Event in Tucson with Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, State Senator Priya Sundareshan, Reproductive Freedom for All and Advocates: Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, State Senator Priya Sundareshan, Reproductive Freedom for All, and emergency physician Dr. Larry DeLuca gathered for a panel highlighting Medicaid’s crucial role in Arizona’s health care system and what’s at stake for Arizonans if funds are cut. “When we talk about Medicaid, we need to stop saying they, and we need to start saying we,” said Dr. Larry DeLuca. “You don’t plan to be in a car accident. No one puts themselves in front of a loaded gun. People can unexpectedly have their lives radically changed, and not just in the short term […] People are not going to get less sick because we took away their healthcare; just the opposite.” You can read the post-event release here. 

  • KGUN 9: Giffords joins reproductive health group in Tucson forum opposing Medicaid cuts 

Tuesday, April 22 – Medicaid Town Hall with Senator Ruben Gallego and Reproductive Freedom for All:  US Senator Ruben Gallego and Reproductive Freedom for All hosted a town hall in Phoenix alongside Protect Our Care Arizona in Phoenix to highlight the devastating consequences of Republican-led efforts to cut Medicaid, known as AHCCCS in Arizona, and the impacts it will have on essential reproductive healthcare for millions of Arizonans. “Women in Arizona deserve to have control over their own bodies,” said Senator Gallego. “But Republicans in Congress want to strip access to reproductive care from poor women in order to give tax cuts to the rich. I’m doing these town halls across the state to hear from people who will be impacted from these cuts and to make clear that Arizonans won’t stand for it.” You can read the post-event release here. 

  • KJZZ:  Sen. Ruben Gallego says proposed Medicaid cuts will leave families uninsured
  • Cronkite News (AZ PBS): Medicaid Cuts- Medicaid Awareness Month (segment begins at 18:40)

CALIFORNIA

Friday, April 11 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Congressman Robert Garcia and California Medicaid Advocates: US Rep. Robert Garcia, family physician Dr. Ian Kim, and health care advocates Karen Reside and Josephine Rios joined Protect Our Care CA to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress like David Valadao, Young Kim, and Ken Calvert are working to cut Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars to pay for tax-breaks to the ultra-wealthy. “House Republicans, including some here in California, are directly lying to the American public about this budget proposal. There’s no question: there are Medicaid cuts in this budget framework.” said Congressman Robert Garcia. “For us in California, the millions and millions of people who rely on Medi-Cal, they are going to either lose coverage, have reduced coverage, or be forced to leave coverage.” You can watch the event here.

  • KPFA: Healthcare advocates and CA congressmember Robert Garcia blast republican move to slash Medicaid by $880 billion

Wednesday, April 16—Children’s Health Care Rally at Rep. David Valadao’s Office: Kids, parents, advocates, and the broader community rallied in support of Medicaid in front of Rep. David Valadao (CA-22) in Bakersfield to call on the congressman to protect Medi-Cal for children who rely on the program for health care.

  • CBS: Hands Off Medicaid Rally in Bakersfield
  • Fox: Hands Off Medicaid Rally in Bakersfield

Thursday, April 17 – Children’s Health Care Rally at Rep. Young Kim’s Office: Kids, parents, advocates, and the broader community rallied in support of Medicaid in front of Rep. Young Kim’s office (CA-40) in Anaheim to call on the congresswoman to protect Medi-Cal for children who rely on the program for health care.

Monday, April 21 – SEIU Disability Week of Action Medicaid Rally in Ken Calvert’s District: California health care advocates came together in Palm Desert to call on Rep. Ken Calvert (CA-41) to protect Medicaid for Californians with disabilities. Advocates discussed the need to protect Medicaid funding and called on the congressman to reject cuts to the program’s budget that could rip care away from disabled Californians. You can watch an Instagram reel of the rally here.

  • KESQ: Rally outside Calvert’s office urging he block potential Medicaid cuts
  • Roll Call: The Bernie Sanders tour puts California GOP on notice
  • NBC Palm Springs: Advocates Rally in Palm Desert Urging Rep. Ken Calvert to Reverse Vote on Medicaid Cuts

Tuesday, April 22 – SEIU Disability Week of Action Medicaid Rally in Young Kim’s District: California health care advocates came together in Anaheim to call on Rep. Young Kim (CA-40) to protect Medicaid for Californians with disabilities. Advocates discussed the need to protect Medicaid funding and called on the congresswoman to reject cuts to the program’s budget that could rip care away from disabled Californians. You can watch footage from the event here.

  • ABC 7: Protesters rally outside SoCal congresswoman’s office over potential Medicaid cuts
  • NBC Los Angeles: Rally against proposed cuts to Medicaid
  • Fox 11: Rally to protect Medicaid in Anaheim
  • KTLA 5: Rally to protect Medicaid in Anaheim
  • Telemundo 52: Rally to protect Medicaid in Anaheim
  • LA Live: Rally to protect Medicaid in Anaheim
  • Fullerton Observer: Protest Rally at Congressmember Young Kim’s Office to Oppose Medicaid Cuts
  • KABC-LA

Thursday, April 24 – SEIU Disability Week of Action Medicaid Rally in David Valadao’s District: California health care advocates came together in Bakersfield to call on Rep. Young Kim (CA-22) to protect Medicaid for Californians with disabilities. Advocates discussed the need to protect Medicaid funding and called on the congressman to reject cuts to the program’s budget that could rip care away from disabled Californians. You can watch footage from the rally here.

  • ABC23: Rally against potential cuts to Medicaid draws community support in Bakersfield
  • ABC23: Community rallies in Bakersfield to oppose Medicaid cuts
  • KBAK: Dolores Huerta, protesters from around California rally against potential healthcare cuts

Friday, April 25 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Congresswoman Lateefah Simon and Health Care Advocates: Lateefah Simon and Medi-Cal advocates joined Protect Our Care CA to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. During the event, speakers discussed what’s at stake for this vital program and for the 15 million Californians who rely on Medicaid for health care, including millions of Californians with disabilities. “This isn’t just a war on poor people. It’s a war on children. It’s a war on the disabled. It’s a war on the elderly. It’s a war we have to win. There’s no other choice.” said Rep. Lateefah Simon. “The Trump administration has made it blatantly clear that they don’t care about us. But what they don’t understand is that if you rip Medicaid and Medicare from any state, it dilapidates the entire health care infrastructure. Middle class folks and poor people alike will suffer.” You can watch the event here.

IOWA

Tuesday, April 22 – Office Visit, Petition Delivery, and Storyteller Sharing at Representative Marianette Miller-Meeks’ Indianola District Office: Storytellers and advocates visited Representative Miller-Meeks’ office to discuss the importance of Medicaid and what’s at risk for vulnerable Iowans. Eleven storytellers and three staff members listed above met at Rep. Miller-Meeks’ Indianola office to speak with office staff about the proposed cuts to Medicaid and the impacts it would have on Iowans. “Any vote Congresswoman Miller-Meeks makes to gut Medicaid funding is a direct hit to the health and well-being of thousands of Iowans in her district,” said Jill Kordick of Norwalk. “Medicaid is a vital lifeline for children, seniors, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. These cuts would jeopardize access to care, force impossible choices for families, and deliver a fiscal sucker punch to rural health systems. You can view the post-event release here.

Thursday, April 24 – Medicaid Community Forum with Health Care Advocates: Protect Our Care Iowa co-hosted a community forum with SEIU, AFGE, Planned Parenthood, and ICAN to highlight what’s at risk for Iowans if the proposed Medicaid cuts in the federal budget become a reality. Doctors, health care workers, and Iowa residents with lived experience shared stories and insight into how these cuts would affect access to care, local hospitals, and families across our state. “We are here today to let Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks know that we want answers and we don’t want Medicaid to get cut,” said Gabriela Fuentes of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa. “As you can see, people are really looking for answers. What is going to happen with Medicaid? There are so many people that are going to be affected if Medicaid is cut.” 

  • KGAN: Iowans voice concerns over Medicaid cuts at North Liberty forum, urge action from lawmaker
  • KCRG: Putting a Balanced Budget to the Test

MAINE

Portland Press Herald: Opinion: Mainecare Saved My Life. We Can’t Let It Be Cut Back.

  • “Earlier this month, Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services announced that it was pausing MaineCare reimbursements for some providers and health care facilities because of the $118 million budget shortfall,” Ortloff writes. “GOP state legislators blocked a budget bill that would have shorn up funding for MaineCare. Their callous move comes on the heels of the GOP-controlled House passing a federal budget framework that includes a shocking $880 billion in Medicaid cuts.” 

Thursday, April 24 – Medicaid Day of Action Event with Maine House Chair of Appropriations Drew Gattine and Dr. Jessica Faraci: Maine House Chair of Appropriations Drew Gattine and Dr. Jessica Faraci of Maine Medical Association joined Protect Our Care Maine to highlight how Medicaid, referred to as MaineCare in Maine, is under attack like never before. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are working to cut Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars to pay for tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy. Medicaid plays a vital role in providing affordable health care coverage for 400,000 Mainers, including seniors, people with disabilities, with nearly half being Maine children and people suffering from opioid addiction and mental health disorders. Gattine and Faraci discussed how the most vulnerable Mainers, particularly in rural counties, rely on MaineCare as a social safety net. “Medicaid is a vital necessity for Mainers,”  said State Rep. Drew Gattine. “In rural counties like Aroostook, Somerset, and Washington, 40% of the population benefits from MaineCare. Cutting Medicaid will also jeopardize an important element of Maine’s economy. Thousands upon thousands of Mainers’ jobs in the health care industry is at stake. Hospitals, mostly rural, will be jeopardized.” You can read the post-event release here. 

  • Spectrum News: Potential federal cuts could jeopardize MaineCare coverage, officials say
  • WABI Augusta: Protect Our Care Maine speak out against potential federal Medicaid cuts (also ran during 5pm, 7am broadcast)
  • WPFO Fox Portland: Protect Our Care Maine to Discuss What Potential Medicaid Cuts Would Mean for Mainers (also ran during 7am broadcast)
  • WGME: Protect Our Care Maine to Discuss What Potential Medicaid Cuts Would Mean for Mainers (also ran during 8am, 6am, 5am, and 4am broadcasts) 
  • WGME CBS Portland: Protect Our Care Maine, Democratic Lawmaker Discuss Threat of Medicaid Cuts
  • WPFO Fox Portland: Protect Our Care Maine, Democratic Lawmaker Discuss Threat of Medicaid Cuts
  • Maine Public: Washington Republicans propose billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts that would threaten MaineCare

MINNESOTA

Wednesday, April 16 – Medicaid Defense Event with Congresswoman Betty McCollum and Health Care Advocates: Congresswoman Betty McCollum and SEIU Advocates joined Protect Our Care Minnesota to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are working to cut Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars to pay for tax-breaks to the ultra-wealthy. “One out of four Minnesotans rely on Medicaid for their health care. That includes 620,000 children and 90,000 seniors.  Working parents and children are 65% of enrollees,” said Congresswoman Betty McCollum. “We’re better than this. We need to budget. We need to plan with honesty and integrity, including families that are going to be directly impacted by these cuts. These are our brothers, our sisters, our cousins, our neighbors. They’re us.” You can watch the event here.

  • Red Lake Nation News: Congresswoman Betty McCollum and SEIU Advocates Join Protect Our Care Minnesota to Call Out GOP Plans to Cut Medicaid, Take Away Vital Health Care from Minnesotans
  • KSTP: McCollum Highlights Threats to Medicaid

Duluth News Tribune: Opinion: Medicaid on the Chopping Block for Northland Seniors. 

  • “Medicaid is a critical source of care for millions of seniors across the nation, providing essential care on which older Minnesotans rely. Medicaid helps cover high medical costs for those who have limited income and is the primary payer for long-term care across Minnesota. Medicaid also provides home- and community-based care essential to keep loved ones at home with their families and friends. Many seniors would not be able to afford these desperately needed services with Medicare alone. Cuts to Medicaid would not only jeopardize the vital care seniors depend on but also would threaten the very survival of rural health systems that provide it.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Monday, April 14 – Medicaid Awareness Month/Rural Health Discussion with New Hampshire Advocates: Health care advocates Tuess Kuenning of Bi-State Primary Care Association, Ed Shanshala of the Ammonoosuc Community Health Services and Samuel Burgess from New Futures joined Protect Our Care New Hampshire to discuss how cuts to Medicaid would cause rural communities to lose access to critical health services. The panel focused on the urgent need to preserve and strengthen Medicaid in the face of potential federal funding cuts and ongoing economic uncertainty. “Medicaid is an economic lifeline for rural communities…” said Ed Shanshala, CEO of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services. “These dollars move around within the local economy. People pay their mortgage. They buy groceries. They buy a car. Without that investment in the state loan repayment program, it’s difficult. They want to come back. They want to care for their friends, family, and neighbors who nurtured them.” You can watch the full event here. 

  • WMUR: New Hampshire Health Leaders Warn Federal Medicaid Cuts Will Hurt Rural Health Centers
  • Caledonian Record:  Proposed Medicaid Cuts Raise Alarms In North Country
  • NHPR: ‘Hit From All Sides Right Now’: Proposed Budget Cuts Could Strain Nh’s Safety Net Health System 

NEW YORK

LoHud: Opinion: Republicans in Congress — Like Ny’s Mike Lawler — Think Medicaid Doesn’t Matter. 

  • “No one went to the polls in November to cut health care for our nation’s most vulnerable, and if Republicans get their way, we will all pay the price. It has never been more critical to do everything we can to protect affordable health care access in America.”

Monday, April 21—Medicaid Defense Event with Senator Peter Welch and Congressman Paul Tonko: Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) and Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) hosted a rally in Plattsburgh to highlight the importance of protecting Medicaid coverage. Welch and Tonko discussed how Congressional Democrats are fighting to defend Americans’ access to health care and are working to push back against efforts to kick Vermonters and New Yorkers off Medicaid to pay for a tax cut for those who don’t pay their fair share. “This is about health care and the well-being of every American. President Trump and Republicans’ budget would cut care for those who need it most, all so they secure tax cuts for billionaires—that’s an acceptable deal to them. But as far as I’m concerned, there is no acceptable cut to health coverage,” said Senator Welch. “So while Republicans are attempting to finance a tax cut for the ultra-wealthy, Democrats will continue working to protect access to Medicaid for communities small and large and work to lower costs for hardworking families and seniors.”

  • NBC5 Plattsburgh: Sen. Peter Welch holds rally in Plattsburgh, sounds alarm over proposed federal cuts
  • NBC5 Plattsburgh: Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, NY Rep. Paul Tonko to hold joint rally in Plattsburgh
  • WCAX: Welch hosts North Country rally to protect Medicaid rights
  • WAMC: Vermont Senator Peter Welch and New York Congressman Paul Tonko hold rally to support Medicaid in Plattsburgh
  • VermontBiz: Welch, Tonko, community members rally in support of Medicaid
  • The Press-Republican: Welch, Tonko rally draws attention to possible Medicaid cuts

Tuesday, April 22—Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Congressman George Latimer and Health Care Advocates: Congressman and former Westchester County Executive George Latimer, White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach, White Plains Common Council President Victoria Presser and Westchester County Legislator Ben Boykin joined Protect Our Care New York to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are working to cut Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars to pay for tax-breaks to the ultra-wealthy. “Medicaid isn’t just a budget line, it’s a lifeline for millions of New Yorkers,” said Congressman George Latimer. “In the 16th District alone, tens of thousands of seniors depend on Medicaid to stay healthy and secure. We cannot, and will not, allow Republicans to balance the budget on the backs of those who can least afford it.” You can watch the Congressman’s remarks here.

  • MidHudson News: Latimer rallies Westchester residents to oppose Medicaid cuts

NORTH CAROLINA

Saturday, April 19 – Poor Peoples’ Campaign Rally in Raleigh, North Carolina:

Protect Our Care North Carolina provided support for the Poor Peoples’ Campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. During the rally, speakers outlined several demands of the Trump administration, including maintaining due process, protecting voting rights, and adherence to a “Moral Budget”.

  • WRAL: Raleigh, Durham join nationwide day of action to protest actions of Trump administration

Thursday, April 24 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with State Representative Sarah Crawford and Health Care Advocates: State Rep. Sarah Crawford; Shannon Dingle, Little Lobbyists; and Eric Schneidewind, former AARP National President joined Protect Our Care North Carolina to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. “I get to see first hand, every day, the power of Medicaid. It is not simply a safety net. It is the foundation that holds up lives, families, providers, and their entire community system of care,” said State Representative Sarah Crawford. “But that foundation is under attack by political games. National Republicans, especially Donald Trump, are actively pushing to gut this vital program. Why? To pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. “ You can watch the event here, and view the post-event release here.

PENNSYLVANIA

Monday, April 14 – SEIU Medicaid Rally in Representative Ryan Mackenzie’s District: Protect Our Care Pennsylvania provided support for an SEIU rally to hold Representative Ryan Mackenzie accountable for Republican attacks on Medicaid. Local community groups and constituents across the district rallied at Rep. Mackenzie’s district office, demanding accountability for his support of devastating Medicaid cuts and corporate giveaways championed by President Trump and House Republicans.

Wednesday, April 16 – SEIU Medicaid Rally in Representative Lloyd Smucker’s District: Protect Our Care Pennsylvania provided support for an SEIU rally to hold Representative Lloyd Smucker accountable for Republican attacks on Medicaid. Local community groups and constituents rallied at Rep. Lloyd Smucker’s district office, demanding accountability for his support of devastating Medicaid cuts and corporate giveaways championed by President Trump and House Republicans.

Thursday, April 17 – SEIU Medicaid Rally in Representative Scott Perry’s District: Protect Our Care Pennsylvania provided support for an SEIU rally to hold Representative Scott Perry accountable for Republican attacks on Medicaid. Local community groups and constituents rallied at Rep. Scott Perry’s district office, demanding accountability for his support of devastating Medicaid cuts and corporate giveaways championed by President Trump and House Republicans.

Friday, April 25 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Hughes and Health Care Advocates: Sen. Hughes, health care providers and advocates joined Protect Our Care Pennsylvania to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are working to cut Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars to pay for tax-breaks to the ultra-wealthy. “First of all, let me say this, the state cannot absorb, no state in the country can absorb the cuts, the reductions that the federal government is talking about doing with respect to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, CHIP” said Senator Vincent Hughes “…In the end, what the federal government is doing, what the Musk/Trump/MAGA crew is doing is they’re creating a dynamic to make patients sicker and put workers in danger and likely to lose their jobs, okay? It really is that simple. It’s not complicated.” You can watch the event here, and view the post-event release here.

VIRGINIA

Richmond Times Dispatch: Opinion: Slash Funding for Medicaid and Lose the Fight Against Addiction. 

  • “If President Donald Trump and Congress follow through on their plans to gut Medicaid to pay for tax giveaways for corporations and billionaires, Virginia will be forced to dramatically cut back on addiction treatment services. Without federal support for Medicaid, the state would likely cut back on peer recovery specialists, stop covering crucial medication, and decrease the number of treatment beds, increasing wait times for people to get the help they need. That will have real, devastating impacts on people’s lives.” The full text is viewable here.

Thursday, April 18 – Medicaid Roundtable with Congressman Bobby Scott and Health Care Advocates: Protect Our Care Virginia provided storyteller Tony Hedgepeth, a veteran and member of SEIU Virginia 512, for a roundtable hosted by Congressman Bobby Scott and The Commonwealth Institute. Congressman Scott and advocates highlighted Congressional Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid. Congressman Scott also unveiled a new report from The Commonwealth Institute on the impact of the proposed cuts to Medicaid on veterans and military families. “This letter on Medicaid suggests that they’re not going to vote for Medicaid cuts, but unfortunately that’s not the case,” said Congressman Scott. “If you read the letter they say they won’t cut Medicaid for vulnerable populations, this population, or that population, but it doesn’t rule out cuts in Medicaid … The fact of the matter is the budget cutting Medicaid is necessary to help fund tax cuts for billionaires.” You can watch the event here.

Wednesday, April 23 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with State Senator Ghazala Hashmi and Health Care Advocates: Chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee Ghazala Hashmi joined SAARA of Virginia and Protect Our Care in discussing the impact that proposed cuts to Medicaid – including the potential automatic disenrollment of more than 629,000 Virginians in the expansion population – would have on behavioral health, including treatment for substance use disorders. “We are facing the biggest threat now to health care since the last Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” said Senator Hashmi. “Congressional Republicans are now targeting $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid only for the purpose of funding irresponsible tax giveaways for corporations and for those who are already ultra-wealthy. Gutting Medicaid is going to be devastating to Virginians in every single zip code, and it will set us back in the fight to end the opioid epidemic.” You can watch the event here.

  • Courthouse News: Looming Medicaid Cuts Threaten Progress Made in Combating Opioid Crisis
  • Richmond Times-Dispatch: For Some Virginians, Talk of Cutting Medicaid Funds Hits Home (Full text is viewable here)
  • WRIC: Dems Warn That 630K Virginians Could Lose Health Insurance if Medicaid Is Cut

WEST VIRGINIA

Thursday, April 10 – Disability Advocacy Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Caregiver Mariah Plante and Advocates: Mariah Plante, who is the full-time caregiver of her brother with disabilities, and health care advocates Sherri McKinney from SEIU 1199 and Ellen Allen from West Virginians for Affordable Health Care joined Protect Our Care West Virginia to kick off Medicaid Awareness Month and discuss the GOP plan to cut Medicaid and risk health care for 500,000 West Virginians, including 86,000 people with disabilities. Plante shared her story of taking care of her brother and relying on the Medicaid IDD Waiver program: “Even though there are few resources available for families like ours in this part of the state, Medicaid is our lifeline,” Plante said. “It covers his Medical care, eyeglasses, and behavioral support, including specialists that would otherwise be totally inaccessible if we had to pay out of pocket for their services. Most importantly, Medicaid enables us to care for Matt at home and provide him with the daily support only a family member can give–instead of in a state-run facility. If Medicaid were to pull back on that support, a lot of people who can’t afford to take care of their loved ones will fall through the cracks.” You can watch the full event here. 

Charleston Gazette-Mail: Opinion: Medicaid Cuts Put Children’s Health at Risk. 

  • “Staffing shortages might lead to closures of facilities that West Virginians rely on for care,” Lefeber writes. “Perhaps the most drastic impact would be felt in rural parts of the state, which are home to the vast majority, or two-thirds, of our residents. Children in rural areas are more dependent on Medicaid coverage and 36% of hospitals are already at risk of closing.” You can read the full op-ed here. 

Charleston Gazette Mail: Opinion: Capito, Justice Must Hold Stance on Health Care. 

  • “A cut that huge would truly be, as Justice said, beyond catastrophic across the U.S. and especially in low-income states like West Virginia,” Wilson writes. “Our already dismal health statistics would get worse. Minor issues will turn major. Substance use disorder will go untreated. The cost of emergency room visits and uncompensated care will grow and be passed on to others. Rural hospitals will close. Jobs will be lost. And people will die. The margins in Congress are razor thin. Our senators’ votes could influence the final outcome, especially after the House voted to throw us under the bus. I hope Justice and Capito take their own advice and side with the people of West Virginia again.” You can read the full op-ed here. 

Thursday, April 24 – Medicaid Awareness Month Event with Delegate John Williams and Advocates in Morgantown, West Virginia: West Virginia delegate John Williams, West Virginians for Affordable Health Care executive director Ellen Allen, Milan Puskar Health Right executive director Laura Jones and Valley Community Services CEO G.N. James joined Protect Our Care West Virginia at Milan Puskar Health Right in Morgantown to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are working to cut Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars to pay for tax-breaks to the ultra-wealthy. April marks the eighth annual Medicaid Awareness Month. During the event, speakers will discuss what’s at stake for this vital program and for the over 500,000 West Virginians who rely on Medicaid for health care. “I want my people to have health care,” said Delegate John Williams. “Medicaid has been a lifeline for them. It’s been something—with the expanded population—they’ve had access to for around 12 years now. To take this from them would literally be a death sentence for West Virginians. It would be an economic death sentence for our rural hospitals. This is an incredibly important issue, one of the most important issues that I’ve seen in my time in the legislature, and we need to be fighting it.” You can watch the full event here. 

  • WDTV: Del. Williams joins ‘Protect Our Care WV’ in effort to protect Medicaid

West Virginia Watch: Opinion: Is West Virginia — And the Rest of the Country — Prepared to Care for Our Seniors. 

  • “There is an unprecedented and unnecessary attack on one of the largest health insurance programs in the country. The GOP has plans to rip Medicaid from our seniors — and every other person assisted by Medicaid — in the current budget process,” Allen writes. “Under the current proposal, West Virginia stands to lose over a half a billion federal dollars. And we all saw a few weeks ago how eager West Virginia Republicans are to throw tens of thousands of their constituents under the bus if Congress cuts the program. They didn’t even wait for their Congressional delegation. They preempted them by attempting to sneak in a Medicaid trigger bill signaling the message: Hey, it’s OK, we don’t care if you gut Medicaid. We are ready and willing.” 

Charleston Gazette-Mail: Opinion:Medicaid Is Vital to West Virginia’s Economic Health.

  • “Medicaid revenues affect the economic well-being of every community,” Wise writes. “Health care is one of the state’s largest employers; 49,000 work in 65 hospitals as well as thousands more in 100 nursing and assisted living facilities, rural health clinics and countless physician’s offices. Each one of these health care workers, usually supported in whole or in part by Medicaid, buys cars, homes, appliances, shops locally, contributes to church and community efforts and pays taxes.” You can read the full op-ed here. 

The Inter-Mountain: Opinion: Proposed Medicaid Cuts Could Hurt Many. 

  • “While politicians are playing checkers with numbers, the rest of us could face a compromised healthcare future, with no fallback plan,” Bruning writes. “A yes vote to cut Medicaid means that veterans, people with disabilities, low-income people, children are all expendable. Did you know that half the births in WV are covered by Medicaid? If our lawmakers vote yes to cut Medicaid, it means they are willing to risk the lives of women and babies.” 

WISCONSIN

Tuesday, April 15 – “Hands Off Medicaid” Roundtable with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and Health Care Advocates: U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin held a “Hands Off Medicaid” roundtable in Green Bay, Wisconsin in conjunction with Protect Our Care Wisconsin to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. “Threats to Medicaid are very serious right now,” said Senator Baldwin.  “…as the president and Republicans in Congress are proposing massive slashes to the Medicaid program,” You can view the post-event release here.

  • FOX11: Despite GOP Claims to Not Gut Medicaid, Democrats Continue Voicing Concerns Over Program
  • WeAreGreenBay: Baldwin Brings ‘Hands off Medicaid’ Tour to Green Bay as GOP Health Proposals Move Forward
  • State Affairs Pro: U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin calls out GOP plans to cut Medicaid, take away vital health care from Wisconsinites
  • WBAY: Senator Baldwin Stops in Green Bay
  • WBAY: Baldwin Hands Off Medicaid Tour Comes to Green Bay
  • WBAY: Baldwin Visits Green Bay
  • WFRV: “Hands Off Medicaid” Tour Comes to Green Bay 
  • WFRV: Senator Baldwin Continues Medicaid Tour
  • WTAQ: Senator Baldwin Discusses the Republican Plan to Cut Medicaid 
  • WTAQ: Senator Baldwin Shares Her Story About Medicaid 
  • WMTV: Senator Baldwin Continues Her Hands Off Medicaid Tour in Green Bay
  • WLUK: Senator Baldwin Continues Her Push to Protect Medicaid 

Tuesday, April 22 – Medicaid Accountability Town Hall with Congressman Mark Pocan and Health Care Advocates in La Crosse, Wisconsin: Protect Our Care Wisconsin co-sponsored an accountability town hall with Congressman Pocan, several partner organizations from across Wisconsin, and a guest appearance from Senator Bernie Sanders. During the town hall, Congressman Pocan answered questions from constituents of Representative Derrick Van Orden who shared their concerns about a variety of issues including health care, taxes, and government programs. “Someone’s got to fight for them,” said Congressman Pocan. “And if these certain members are unwilling to listen to constituents, I’m going to make them uncomfortable until they do.”

  • WIZM: Around 300 at La Crosse Town Hall With US House Rep. Mark Pocan and Surprise Visit From Sen. Bernie Sanders
  • News8000: Pocan on Third District Town Hall: ‘Someone’s Got to Fight for Them’
  • WXOX: Opportunity Wisconsin Hosts Rep. Pocan in Town Hall, Rep. Van Orden a No Show
  • WisPolitics: Opportunity Wisconsin: Congressman Pocan joins La Crosse town hall meeting as Congressman Van Orden continues to dodge in-person town halls 
  • WIZM: Rep. Pocan, and Bernie Sanders, Highlight a Town Hall Discussion in La Crosse
  • WKBT: Representative Mark Pocan Will Host a Town Hall in La Crosse
  • WAOW: Representative Pocan Holds Town Hall Outside of His District
  • WMSN: La Crosse Voters Get the Chance to Directly Question a Member of Congress
  • WKBT: Accountability Town Hall in La Crosse
  • WISC: La Crosse Voters Question One of Their Representatives
  • WKBT: Rep. Pocan Faces Third District Voters in La Crosse

Wednesday, April 23 – Medicaid Awareness Month Roundtable with Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Health Care Advocates: U.S. Representative Gwen Moore held a roundtable discussion in conjunction with Protect Our Care Wisconsin to highlight how Medicaid is under attack like never before. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are working to cut Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars to pay for tax-breaks to the ultra-wealthy. “Medicaid work requirements are functionally medicaid cuts – Mom and I are drowning in paperwork already as it is,” said Erin Miller, a young adult on Badgercare. “Please, no more paperwork. More requirements for people who are already working, like me, are just more work.” You can watch the event here, and view the post-event release here.

ashoup
In News, Roundup

HEADLINES: SCOTUS Hears Arguments In Kennedy v. Braidwood, The Case That Puts Free Preventative Care At Risk

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Kennedy, et al. v. Braidwood, a case in which far-right extremists are seeking to invalidate a key portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires insurers to cover lifesaving preventive services for free, including cancer screenings, statins to address high cholesterol levels, mental health screenings, and HIV prevention medication. Providing no-cost coverage of lifesaving screenings and services has saved innumerable lives, improved health outcomes, and reduced disparities in care. In total, over 150 million Americans have benefited from this provision of the ACA. Read more about the case here. Last week, Protect Our Care held a press call warning of the threats to American health care posed by the case.

Court watchers report the Supreme Court seems poised to reject the right-wing plaintiffs’ claims, but the threat does not stop there. Given the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on experts, science, and health care, they are likely to undermine the availability of free vaccines, contraception, mental health, and other critical services.

Politico: Supreme Court Appears to Reject Conservative Argument Over Obamacare Provision.

  • “But while President Joe Biden’s Justice Department argued that eliminating the coverage requirements would harm the public’s health, Trump’s attorneys focused exclusively Monday on Kennedy’s supervisory power. That argument has made progressive health advocates who filed amicus briefs in the case nervous — particularly given Kennedy’s views about vaccines and other preventive health care that contradict the medical community’s consensus, as well as his reported desire to overhaul other HHS advisory committees.”

Jezebel: This Supreme Court Case Underscored How Much Power RFK Jr. Has Over Our Health Insurance.

  • “Leslie Dach, a former HHS aide who now leads the group Protect Our Care, told Politico: ‘We are very, very nervous that they will take a sledgehammer to vaccines, take a sledgehammer to contraception and a number of other preventative services that the American people benefit from and need.’”

Axios: ACA Preventive Care Case Reaches Supreme Court.

  • “Progressive advocacy groups remain concerned that the Trump administration could use its authority to limit coverage of vaccines, contraception and other scientifically backed preventive services. ‘We’re going to have to remain very, very vigilant in seeing how the administration, which thankfully is defending the law now, behaves when the power is in their hands,’ Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, told reporters last week.”

Politico: Obamacare Returns to SCOTUS, With Preventive Care on the Line.

  • “‘It’s important that they’re looking to protect this authority, but we’re hoping that they’re not just doing it because they want the ability to ruin our health care,’ said Leslie Dach, a former senior counselor at HHS who now leads the group Protect Our Care. ‘We are very, very nervous that they will take a sledgehammer to vaccines, take a sledgehammer to contraception and a number of other preventative services that the American people benefit from and need.’”

The Hill: SCOTUS to Hear Obamacare Free Care Case.

  • “‘The minute that provision gets struck down … we will be back at the mercy of the insurance companies. They’ll still get the same premium from you, but they’ll offer less services,’ said Leslie Dach, executive chair of the Democratic-aligned group Protect Our Care.” 

Politico Pulse: Obamacare in Court … Again.

  • “‘It’s important that they’re looking to protect this authority, but we’re hoping that they’re not just doing it because they want the ability to ruin our health care,’ said Leslie Dach, a former senior counselor at HHS who now leads the group Protect Our Care. ‘We are very, very nervous that they will take a sledgehammer to vaccines, take a sledgehammer to contraception and a number of other preventative services that the American people benefit from and need.’”

AP News: US Supreme Court Appears Likely to Uphold Obamacare’s Preventive Care Coverage Mandate.

  • “The case could have big ramifications for the law’s preventive care coverage requirements for an estimated 150 million Americans. Medications and services that could be affected include statins to prevent heart disease, lung cancer screenings, HIV-prevention drugs and medication to lower the chance of breast cancer for high-risk women.”

ABC News: Supreme Court Divided Over Obamacare Mandate for No-Cost Preventive Health Benefits.

  • “‘The ACA’s preventive services requirement has been a game-changer, providing access to evidence-based preventive care and early detection of serious medical conditions,’ said Wayne Turner, a senior attorney at the National Health Law Program, a nonprofit group that advocates for low-income communities. ‘The ACA’s coverage and cost-sharing protections are especially important for low-income persons, who will be harmed most if the Supreme Court refuses to allow the ACA provision to stand.’”

The New York Times: Supreme Court Wrestles With Challenge to Affordable Care Act Over Free Preventive Care. 

  • “But the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, could have broader implications for tens of millions of Americans who receive a wide array of free health care services, including cancer and diabetes screenings, medications to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections causing blindness. A ruling in favor of the challengers could mean that insurers would no longer be required to offer free coverage for any care the United States Preventive Services Task Force has recommended since 2010.”

CBS: Dispute Involving Affordable Care Act’s Preventive Care Coverage Faces Supreme Court.

  • “If the Supreme Court affirms the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, major hospital associations and leading nonprofits advocating on behalf of breast cancer and HIV patients have warned it would limit access to life-saving medical care for millions of patients, as insurers would no longer be required to cover at no cost to patients the services recommended by the task force.”

CNN: Supreme Court Could Help Preserve Obamacare’s No-Cost Preventive Care Task Force.

  • “At stake is the ability of millions of Americans to access cost-free services under the Affordable Care Act such as cancer screenings, statins that help prevent cardiovascular disease, PrEP drugs that help prevent HIV infections, and counseling referrals for pregnant and postpartum women at increased risk of depression. The task force’s recommendations were challenged by a Texas business, Braidwood Management, that objected on religious grounds to covering certain preventive services, including the PrEP medications.”

The Washington Post: Challenge to ACA Preventive-Care Panel Draws Skepticism From Supreme Court.

  • “Health-care providers and nonprofit organizations say the closely watched case could affect critical health services for many Americans who might otherwise not have access to them.”

Fierce Healthcare: Supreme Court Appears Willing to Save ACA Preventive Services Task Force.

  • “‘Stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, the challengers’ claim is supposedly about political accountability,’ said Andrew Pincus, a partner at law firm Mayer Brown. ‘But if that is what they really were after, it’s been achieved: the government agrees that the Secretary can control whether recommendations become binding on private parties through his power to appoint and remove USPSTF members and his power to issue regulations determining when and whether recommendations become effective.’”

The Advocate: Justices Kavanaugh & Barrett Signal They May Uphold Access to PrEP and Preventative Care Protections. 

  • “The case began as a religious objection to PrEP and has expanded into a full-blown assault on the ACA’s preventive care guarantees. LGBTQ+ and public health advocates warn that a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would allow insurers to begin denying or charging for services currently guaranteed to be free—like STI testing, diabetes screening, contraception, and maternal care.”

Mother Jones: The Latest Supreme Court Case Targeting the ACA Comes from a Longtime Anti-Gay Activist.

  • “‘The people who are going to be hurt most are the people who can’t just pull out a credit card and pay full cost for a service, or pay a $50 co-pay or an $80 co-pay,’ says Wayne Turner, senior attorney at the National Health Law Program. ‘It is a literal lifesaver for people to be able to have some early detection.’” 

Fierce Healthcare: ‘At the Mercy of Insurance Companies’: Supreme Court Braces for ACA Preventive Coverage Suit Oral Arguments.

  • “‘I think at the end of the day, we need to make sure we understand this is going to mean more deaths at even a higher cost to Americans, and there’s no question that there’s savings down the line when we do this,’ said Georges Benjamin, M.D., executive director at the American Public Health Association. If the provision is overturned, it will lead to more deaths from cancer, strokes and drug use, he added.”
  • “‘It was an easy choice,’ said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in a press briefing April 16. ‘First, the plaintiff’s argument doesn’t hold up and relies on bad faith reading of the appointments clause, and the court could also take steps to repair the provision in question without destroying these essential programs.’”

STAT: In Braidwood v. Kennedy, Supreme Court Is Hearing Challenge to ACA Rule Requiring Free Preventive Care.

  • “‘This is about giving them the power, to some extent. This is a fight to say, the secretary has the power. If they win, they can uphold the experts’ recommendations or attempt to veto them, which then would likely trigger a court challenge,’ said Andrew Pincus, a lawyer representing the American Public Health Association in an amicus brief filed to the Court.”

Washington Examiner: Supreme Court Skeptical Of Undoing Obamacare Preventive Coverage Mandates.

  • “Braidwood Management, a Texas Christian-owned business, argued that the task force members ought to be construed as ‘primary officers,’ meaning it is unconstitutional for them to be appointed by the secretary of Health and Human Services, as they are today. Instead, they should be subject to presidential appointment and Senate confirmation under the appointment clause of the Constitution.”
  • “If the court rules in favor of Braidwood, all changes that the task force has made since 2010 would be invalidated, including the HIV medication PrEP, cancer screenings, and certain maternal care measures.”

STAT: Opinion: Employers Should Continue Waiving Preventive Care Out-Of-Pocket Costs Regardless Of How Supreme Court Rules.

  • “The Supreme Court has several options in this case: It could rule narrowly or broadly in favor of the plaintiffs, rule against them, or avoid making a substantive ruling altogether. A narrow ruling for the plaintiffs might apply only to their specific circumstances, leaving preventive care provisions intact for other employers. A broader ruling could eliminate the requirement for insurers to cover services recommended by the USPSTF without cost-sharing — potentially limited to those recommendations issued after 2010, including PrEP. A very broad decision could strike down all preventive service mandates under the Affordable Care Act. Alternatively, the court may rule against the plaintiffs entirely or decline to decide the case on procedural grounds.”
  • “Preventive health care coverage has proven to be a worthwhile benefit that saves lives and improves health. Regardless of the Supreme Court decision, there are compelling reasons for employers to maintain coverage of preventive services without cost sharing like deductibles and copays.”
ashoup
In News, Roundup

“It’s A Bloodbath”: Trump Administration Slashes Millions in NIH Funding for Maternal Health, HIV, and Other Research

The Republican War On Health Care Continues With Devastating Cuts to Lifesaving Research 

Over the last two days, the Trump administration has slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants for universities and state agencies around the country studying health issues, including maternal mortality, domestic violence, climate change, HIV, health disparities, immunizations, and more. Trump and his RFK-led HHS also shuttered its Long Covid office, which worked on curing Long Covid and streamlining Covid-related public health efforts, and they froze funding for family planning efforts such as contraception distribution, STD and pregnancy testing, and counseling for infertility. With these new efforts, the Trump administration is not only targeting women, children, people of color, and other marginalized communities, it is hurting universities, axing much-needed life-saving research and medical innovation, and threatening public health. These cuts will dramatically harm the health and well-being of communities nationwide, and they will cost lives. 

CNN: ‘People Will Die Based on These Decisions’: Trump Administration Cuts Funding for Dozens of HIV Studies.

  • “‘This is just pure chaos and insanity,’ said Kelley, chair of the HIV Medicine Association. The National Institutes of Health canceled two grants last week for HIV projects she was working on, as well as funding for a large HIV clinical trial network she was involved with. ‘It’s just a massive, massive bloodbath,’ Kelley said. The NIH has eliminated funding for dozens of HIV-related research grants, according to a US Department of Health and Human Services database that was updated last week, halting studies and threatening patient care across the country. Several researchers said the cuts put a stop to hopes of ending HIV in the US and around the world.”

Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Plans to Freeze Family-Planning Grants.

  • “The freeze, which could be made public as soon as this week, would suspend funding meant to support, in the U.S., pregnancy testing, provision of contraception, treatment of sexually transmitted infections and evaluation and counseling for infertility.”
  • “The Department of Health and Human Services distributes the funds under its program known as Title X. The $120 million is roughly half the money available for the program for the year, according to the HHS website. The program gives free or discounted services to about four million people annually through a network of roughly 4,000 clinics.”

NBC: CDC Is Pulling Back $11B in COVID Funding Sent to Health Departments Across the U.S. 

  • “‘The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,’ HHS Director of Communications Andrew Nixon said in a statement. ‘HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again…’ The clawed-back funds were largely being used for Covid testing, vaccination, community health workers and initiatives to address Covid health disparities among high-risk and underserved populations, including racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities, as well as global Covid projects, according to talking points emailed from CDC leadership to agency departments on Tuesday.” 

Politico: Long COVID Office ‘Will Be Closing,’ Trump Administration Announces. 

  • “The Trump administration is shuttering HHS’ long Covid office as part of its reorganization, according to an internal email… The office’s handful of staff were not told whether they would remain employed in the federal government or whether the office would close immediately or wind down operations over time… One HHS employee who works on long Covid, granted anonymity to share details of the move, argued closing the office would not save much money and could cost more over time. Not only could suspending the office’s coordination work lead to overlapping and duplicated efforts, the employee said, but abandoning work that could cure Long Covid means the country’s health care system will have to provide years if not decades of costly care for tens of millions of chronically ill people.”

NOTUS: HHS Pulled Funds for HIV Research at 22 Universities. 

  • “The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services terminated around 60 federal grants supporting HIV and HIV prevention-related research over the past five weeks, cutting tens of millions in funding for programs spread across nearly two dozen universities and a handful of other institutions. Much of the research focused on population groups most impacted by HIV. Roughly half of the programs centered on Black or Latino populations, who have made up the vast majority of recent HIV infections per estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Others focused on transgender people, a frequent target of this White House. At least one grant focused on preventing HIV in infants and children… ‘The American people have seen their tax dollars used to fund the passion projects of unelected bureaucrats rather than to advance the national interest,’ the memo reads. ‘The American people have a right to see how the Federal Government has wasted their hard-earned wages.’” 

Mother Jones: Domestic Violence and Maternal Mortality Are Rising. The NIH Just Defunded a Project to Study Both. 

  • “The National Institutes of Health intended to terminate a grant of approximately $400,000 for one of her projects. Fielding-Miller, who researches infectious diseases and gender-based violence, along with some colleagues who do similar work received the funds last fall to support a project focused on training up to a dozen early-career researchers on how to better study intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy. The lead researchers were just about to start recruiting mentees for the year-and-a-half-long program, Fielding-Miller said… ‘Research programs based primarily on artificial and non-scientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives, are antithetical to the scientific inquiry, do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness,’ the termination letter from the NIH said… Emily Hilliard, spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the NIH, said: ‘At HHS, we are dedicated to restoring our agencies to their tradition of upholding gold-standard, evidence-based science. As we begin to Make America Healthy Again, it’s important to prioritize research that directly affects the health of Americans.’”

AP News: Trump Administration Cancels at Least 68 Grants Focused on LGBTQ Health Questions. 

  • “Last week the U.S. government terminated at least 68 grants to 46 institutions totaling nearly $40 million when awarded, according to a government website. Some of the grant money has already been spent, but at least $1.36 million in future support was yanked as a result of the cuts, a significant undercount because estimates were available for less than a third of grants. Most were in some way related to sexual minorities, including research focused on HIV prevention. Other canceled studies centered on cancer, youth suicide and bone health… ‘We now no longer have anywhere studying LGBT cancer in the United States,’ said Rosser, who saw his grants canceled on Friday… ‘It’s a loss of a whole generation of science,’ Rosser said.”

STAT: NIH Cuts Halt 24-Year Program to Prevent HIV/Aids in Adolescents and Young Adults.

  • “During Donald Trump’s first term, he made it a goal to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. by 2030. That priority has fallen by the wayside in the second Trump administration, with the termination of a number of grants related to HIV in the past week. Most notable was the sudden withdrawal of $18 million per year for a program dedicated to understanding how to diagnose, treat, and prevent HIV infections and AIDS in adolescents and young adults, who account for about 19% of new infections annually in the U.S. On Friday, the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Intervention was notified that the two major grants that support its operations had been halted by the National Institutes of Health, in a move that legal experts say may be found illegal if it were challenged in court. Researchers say the loss of the program — during the third year of the seven-year grants — would mean ceasing research that could help expand the populations that might benefit from emerging treatments.”

ProPublica: NIH Ends Future Funding to Study the Health Effects of Climate Change. 

  • “While it’s unclear whether the climate guidance will impact active grants and lead to funding terminations, the directive appears to halt opportunities for future funding of studies or academic programs focused on the health effects of climate change… She called the new guidance ‘catastrophic’ and said it would have a ‘devastating’ impact on much-needed research… The new NIH directive follows the Trump administration’s broader agenda to gut efforts to document and address climate change. Trump has paused billions of dollars of spending on climate-related causes. He has also issued executive orders aimed at increasing the production of fossil fuels and scaling back the government’s efforts to address climate change.”

Roll Call: Trump Cancels NIH Grants on Equity Research. 

  • “The Trump administration is canceling dozens of National Institutes of Health grants funding health equity research, including work studying Black maternal and fetal health and HIV. Grantees were told in termination notices delivered over the last several days that their project ‘no longer effectuates agency priorities’ and that ‘so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) studies are often used to support unlawful discrimination on the basis of race…’ ‘The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries and ranks 54th for infant mortality,’ said Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine President Sindhu Srinivas. ‘Cutting research funding and critical public health programs that support perinatal care only serves to worsen this problem.’”

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Over $165 Million in Grants to Arkansas Services to Be Terminated. 

  • “The list of terminations includes 11 grants to the Arkansas Department of Health totalling $158 million. ‘The referenced funding was supplemental funding in immunizations, health disparities, and epidemiology and laboratory capacity funding,’ said Meg Mirivel, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Health. ‘We always understood these were temporary grants. The ADH is adjusting accordingly and is well equipped to serve Arkansans.’” 

The Baltimore Banner: HHS Cuts Millions in Grants to Hopkins and University of Maryland, Baltimore. 

  • “At least two dozen research grants at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University have been terminated by the federal government in recent weeks amid President Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity efforts.”
  • “‘We face challenging times for the patients and families that rely on us for cures and treatments, and for the researchers dedicated to the pursuit of improving the health of all Americans,’ Hopkins said in a statement. ‘These are cuts to research that will take away prevention strategies and treatments from American patients facing infectious and chronic diseases.’”
mtwomey
In News, Roundup

ROUNDUP: New Polling Shows the Majority of Americans Don’t Trust RFK Jr. to Lead Our Health Care System

The American People Oppose RFK Jr.’s Nomination and Are Concerned About His Dangerous Views and Record

Ahead of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings this week, new polling shows that Americans don’t trust RFK Jr. to make the right recommendations on health issues. Polling also shows that the majority of voters oppose RFK Jr.’s nomination and have deep concerns about his dangerous views and extreme record.

Public Policy Polling: Voters Oppose RFK Jr.’s HHS Nomination, Hold Deep Concerns About His Views and Background. “A new national Public Policy Polling survey finds that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains highly unpopular – only 39% view him favorably, and voters oppose his nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services – 48% of voters oppose the nomination while just 43% support it. After hearing his views, a majority of 51% say they oppose Kennedy’s nomination, just 41% still support it.” [PPP, 1/27/25]

Kaiser Family Foundation: Just 43 Percent Of Voters Express Trust In RFK Jr. “About four in ten say they trust President Trump (42%), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (43%), and Dr. Mehmet Oz (43%) ‘a great deal’ or ‘a fair amount’ to make the right recommendations when it comes to health.” [KFF, 1/28/25]

Associated Press: RFK Jr. is The Most Disliked Trump Nominee. When asked if they approve or disapprove of RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, a plurality (42%) said they somewhat or strongly disapprove, making him the most disliked nominee. [Protect Our Care, 1/27/25]

For years, RFK Jr. has fueled disinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccinations and has pledged to stop funding research for treatments and cures to deadly diseases. His opposition to vaccines will lead to a resurgence of illnesses like polio and measles. RFK Jr. also lacks the experience and skills to run major health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid that over 125 million Americans rely on for their health care. If confirmed, he won’t follow the science or trust the experts but instead will embrace fringe ideas that will put the lives of millions of Americans in jeopardy.

MORE HEADLINES

The Hill: Fewer Than Half in New Poll Trust Trump, RFK Jr. To Make Right Recommendations on Health Issues

  • Fewer than half of Americans in a new poll say they trust President Trump or his health-related nominees to make recommendations on the nation’s pressing health care issues. The latest KFF survey, published Tuesday, finds 42 percent of respondents say they have either a great deal or fair amount of trust in Trump to make the right recommendations when it comes to health issues. … 43 percent said the same about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump tapped to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
  • Among independents, 45 percent have either a great deal or fair amount of confidence in Kennedy. … Kennedy has faced criticism on both sides of the aisle. Liberals point to his longtime advocacy against vaccines and his role as the founder of the prominent anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense.

Axios: Trump’s Health Team Has a Trust Issue

  • Fewer than half of U.S. adults in a new poll trust health recommendations from President Trump and his picks to lead federal health policy… Less than half of the respondents surveyed this month trust President Trump (42%) and Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (43%) at least a fair amount to make the right recommendations on health issues.

CNN: Ahead of RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, Poll Shows Nation Divided on Public Health

  • A new poll shows that less than half of US adults trust Trump and Kennedy to make the right recommendations on health issues. … Kennedy’s views on vaccines have raised alarm among public health experts, including his push of the false claim that vaccines cause autism in children… The KFF survey shows that the vast majority of US adults still believe that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks.
Close Menu