“Sick of It! Fix Health Care Now” Is Protect Our Care’s Largest Grassroots Campaign to Date, Channeling the Frustration of Millions of Americans Across Parties Who Are Fed Up With a Health Care System Wrecked by Donald Trump and Republicans
The American people are sick of it. New and expecting moms across the country are being forced to drive farther and pay more for lifesaving care after Republicans voted to pass the largest health care cuts in history. For moms and their families, this is life or death as lifesaving maternity care becomes harder to access. Last week, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Former CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and Dr. Ala Stanford joined Protect Our Care to discuss the importance of the Momnibus as Donald Trump and Republicans’ health care cuts plunge our country further into a maternity care crisis.
As Congress heads home for the August recess, Protect Our Care is holding Republicans’ feet to the fire for their devastating vote to cut $1 trillion from health care to hand out tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. “GOP Hot Seat Summer” is bringing the fight right to Republican lawmakers’ doorsteps by holding empty-chair town halls, organizing petition drop-offs, hosting accountability events, and highlighting stories from Americans harmed by Republicans’ devastating health care cuts.
Credit: Patty Wight / Maine Public
This is Damariscotta, Maine, where for weeks concerned mothers, nurses, and community members have been rallying in an attempt to save the last maternity ward in the three surrounding counties and one of the last maternity wards in Maine. One local mom, Leah Hurwitz shared that in the 10 minutes it took to get to Lincoln Hospital, “I had two feet coming out of me, so we almost didn’t make it to that hospital.” Her daughter lost oxygen for seven minutes, with Hurwitz saying, “I spent a lot of time in therapy with one question, what if I had been five minutes later?” The next closest maternity ward is 45 minutes away. “You can’t close this, women and babies will die. Veda would have died if we didn’t have this service,” Hurwitz added.
While MaineHealth says that the closure of Miles’ labor and delivery unit isn’t due to financial reasons, 60 percent of births in Lincoln County are paid for by Medicaid, which has been cut significantly by Republicans in Congress. Mainers suffering the price of GOP Medicaid cuts are not alone. Maternity wards have shuttered across 29 states, including California, New York, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, in the wake of GOP Medicaid cuts. Only half of rural hospitals across the country have maternity wards. Just like the moms in Damariscotta, Americans are sick of their health being put second to tax breaks for large corporations and billionaires.
Maternity Ward Closures Are Ravaging the Country After GOP Medicaid Cuts Stoked the Flames of the Nationwide Maternal Health Crisis. Through our Hospital Crisis Watch project, Protect Our Care has tracked more than 50 maternity wards that have closed or announced closure since Republicans passed the largest cuts to Medicaid in history last July. According to the University of Minnesota, 40 labor and delivery units closed in the year prior to H.R. 1. Republicans gutted $1 trillion from the nation’s largest payer for maternal health, forcing devastating decisions at a time when 45 percent of rural hospitals are already in the red. Delivering safe and quality maternity care is expensive. Similar to an emergency room, labor and delivery units must be staffed 24/7 to be able to receive patients in the middle of childbirth. This translates to high costs that are difficult to recoup. More than 120 rural hospitals that deliver babies operate at a financial loss, so when cuts are made, labor and delivery units are often the first to go. Republicans were warned this would happen and prioritized tax breaks for billionaires and corporations over health care for moms and babies.
Obstetrics Unit Closures Lead to Riskier Births. Over 35 percent of counties across America are considered maternity care deserts. Pregnant people who live in maternity care deserts have poorer health before pregnancy, less prenatal care, and experience higher rates of preterm birth. With more and more closures occurring, pregnant women have to travel an additional 30 to 50 minutes to get to the closest hospital with maternity services. Less access to care means expecting mothers are more likely to give birth in riskier settings, such as an emergency room, at home, or in vehicles on the way to the hospital. This has been associated with complications postpartum and higher rates of maternal and infant mortality.
Over 50 Maternity Care Providers Across the Country Have Closed or Announced Closure Since Republicans Passed H.R. 1:
- USA Health Providence Hospital – Labor & Delivery
- Banner Casa Grande Medical Center – Labor & Delivery
- Ouachita County Medical Center – OB Unit
- Baptist Health-Fort Smith – Labor & Delivery, NICU
- Corona Regional Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Delta Health – Labor & Delivery Unit
- UF Health Leesburg Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Jackson South Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Ascension Alexian Brothers Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- West Suburban Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Vista East Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Johnson Memorial Health – Obstetrics & Maternity Care
- Green County General Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- MercyOne Clinton Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital Birthing Center
- Mount Desert Island Hospital – OB Unit
- ChristianaCare Union Hospital – Family Birth Center
- Merrimack Health Maternity Unit at the Methuen Campus
- Mercy Medical Center – Maternity Unit
- Aspirus Ironwood Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas – Obstetrics Unit
- Faribault Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Allina’s Owatonna Hospital – On Call OB-GYN Physician Services
- Memorial Hospital Biloxi – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- HCA Midwest Health Research Medical Center – Obstetrics & NICU
- Providence St. Patrick Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Nassau University Medical Center – Labor & Delivery
- RRH Newark-Wayne Community Hospital – Labor & Delivery
- North Star Health Alliance Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center – Labor & Delivery
- Soin Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital – Maternity
- Claremore Indian Hospital – Obstetrics Unit
- Asante Ashland Community Hospital – Family Birth Center
- Oregon Medical Group – OB-GYN Department
- Providence Seaside Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Temple University Hospital Main – Obstetrics Unit
- Grand View Hospital – Obstetrics Unit
- Warren General Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Sweetwater Hospital Association – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Lakeway Labor & Delivery
- Medical Center of Southeast Texas – Labor & Delivery
- Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Birthing Center
- Copley Hospital – Labor & Delivery Ward
- Centra Southside Community Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
- CAMC Greenbrier Valley Medical Center – Labor & Delivery Unit
- Vandalia Health Mon Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital – Labor & Delivery
- Banner Platte County Hospital – Labor & Delivery Unit
For more information, please see the FAQs section of our Hospital Crisis Watch project.