See below for a statement from Protect Our Care President Brad Woodhouse:
“Donald Trump is in Pennsylvania today peddling lies about affordability to the Lehigh Valley families his policies have hurt. As the one-year anniversary of H.R. 1 approaches, working families are reeling after being punched in the gut by Trump and Republicans, like Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07), who slashed more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and ripped away health care tax credits that helped 22 million Americans get affordable coverage to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Now, 5 million Americans and counting have already lost coverage, and families across Pennsylvania are rationing medications, skipping doctor’s visits, and lying awake at night wondering how they’ll pay for the life-saving coverage they depend on. Trump can show up to a photo op and lie through his teeth that things are great, but Pennsylvanians see right through it, and Rep. Mackenzie won’t escape their ire at the ballot box in November.”
In One Year of Trump-GOP Health Care Cuts, Over Five Million Americans Lost Coverage, 1,000+ Hospitals, Wards, Clinics Closed, Made Cuts, or Are At Risk
- Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have made the largest health care cuts to Medicaid in history. Republicans gutted around $1 trillion from Medicaid alone last July. In June 2025, 80.8 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. According to the most recent enrollment numbers released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state agencies, 76.9 million Americans are now enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP — an estimated coverage loss of over 3.8 million Medicaid/CHIP enrollees, including an estimated 55,212 Pennsylvanians.
- Families across the country are being crushed by GOP-driven sticker shock. Last November, premiums more than doubled for over 20 million families because Trump and Republicans took away the tax credits that helped millions afford coverage, plunging the country into a health care affordability crisis. During the 2025 Open Enrollment period, 24.3 million Americans bought affordable health insurance on their own through the ACA. During this year’s Open Enrollment period, just 23.1 million Americans signed up — an estimated coverage loss of nearly 1.2 million.
- Premiums for Pennsylvanians receiving ACA tax credits increased by an average of 143% this year:
- A 45-year-old in Pennsylvania making $64,000 saw their average annual premium costs rise by $811 to hit $6,251 this year.
- A 60-year-old couple in Pennsylvania making $85,000 saw their average annual premium costs rise by $16,271 to hit $23,496 this year.
- A family of four in Pennsylvania making $130,000 saw their average annual premium costs rise by $6,637 to hit $17,687 this year.
- This is just the beginning of the coverage loss. Millions more will lose coverage once deeper cuts go into effect. The coverage loss we’re seeing now likely reflects skyrocketing premiums from GOP elimination of enhanced premium tax credits, the red tape created by the overturn of multiple rules that were designed to expand access to Medicaid and mitigate coverage loss from the unwinding of pandemic-era policies, and other eligibility restrictions that have already taken effect. Next year, coverage losses will accumulate even more from work requirements, redeterminations, downstream effects of other cuts. By 2034, an estimated 450,000 Pennsylvanians are anticipated to lose their health care coverage.
- Over 1,000 hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes have shut down, cut services, or are at risk of doing so after Trump and Republicans gutted over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the ACA — forcing Americans to travel further for maternity care and emergency rooms, face longer wait times, and pay more for their care.
- Pennsylvania hospitals alone are expected to lose nearly just under $22.4 billion annually. 50 Pennsylvania health care providers are at-risk, announced cuts, are closing, or have closed.
Who Are the Pennsylvanians Caught in the GOP Health Care Crisis?
In Rep. Mackenzie’s district, Lynn Weidner spends 80 hours a week taking care of her partner, who has cerebral palsy. Her premium spiked by $300 a month this year after Republicans ripped away the Affordable Care Act health care tax credits. “‘I was paycheck to paycheck last year,’ Weidner said. ‘This year, without cutting anything out, I will be in the negative.’”
After getting coverage, Lynn discovered she was anemic, which she manages with testing and iron infusions that keep her in medical debt. As a result, she has had to cut costs in other living expenses, such as “making sacrifices at the grocery store” and saving pills “at the end of her prescriptions to prepare for the next emergency.” [Bucks County Beacon]
In Cresco, Grace Robinson credits Medicaid for her life. She was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disorder that causes strokes, brain lesions, and organ complications. After struggling to find specialists, she was able to get into a Medicaid waiver program that helped her get the support she needed. “‘My life completely changed,’ Robinson said. ‘I’m thriving because of Medicaid.’”
But since Republicans slashed $1 trillion from Medicaid, Grace worries about keeping her care that has given her the ability to walk and eat again — things she wasn’t sure she would ever do again. “Without a safety net such as Medicaid, Robinson said she couldn’t afford to stay alive. ‘I need ongoing services with specialists and my care is very complex, and these things are just not taken into consideration when they vote,’ Robinson said.” [The Keystone]
In Rep. Mackenzie’s district, Patrick Visconti works as a self-employed landscaper and a bus driver. He was forced to switch to a high-deductible plan after Republicans ripped away the Affordable Care Act health care tax credits, causing his premium to jump to over $500 a month. He says the plan is “crappy coverage” and he would “rather pay the $200 a month. But [he] can’t get anything for $200.” [WTAE]
Read more stories from Pennsylvania and across the country here.