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ashoup
In News, Roundup

IN THE NEWS: Senate Advances the Biggest Blow to Health Care With Trump Budget Bill

Senate Republicans voted to pass their Big, Ugly Bill, bringing us one step closer to solidifying the largest cuts to health care in history. The bill will fund massive tax breaks for the wealthiest people and corporations by stripping 17 million Americans of their health care. Not only will this bill set back uninsured rates to a level not seen in 15 years, it will force hundreds of hospitals and nursing homes to shut down, causing layoffs and hurting local economies across the country. Children, seniors, people with disabilities and serious illnesses, and hardworking families are all at risk of losing access to lifesaving health care coverage. 

Despite widespread opposition and polling that finds this bill overwhelmingly unpopular across party lines, Senate Republicans rammed it through anyway, increasing the cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to over $1 trillion. Coverage makes clear that Republicans are putting billionaires over hardworking families struggling to make ends meet. Now, House Republicans have one more chance to stand up for the hardworking Americans they represent, not billionaires, and reject this health care killer bill.

NPR: 5 Ways Trump’s Tax Bill Will Limit Health Care Access

  • “The deepest cuts to health care spending come from a proposed Medicaid work requirement, which would cut off coverage for millions of enrollees who do not meet new employment or reporting standards… State experiments with work requirements have been plagued with administrative issues, such as eligible enrollees losing coverage over paperwork problems, and budget overruns.”
  • “The GOP’s plan would curtail a practice, known as provider taxes, that nearly every state has used for decades to increase Medicaid payments to hospitals, nursing homes and other providers and to private managed-care companies… Rural hospitals typically operate on thin profit margins and rely on Medicaid tax payments to sustain them. Researchers from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research who examined the House bill concluded it would push more than 300 rural hospitals — many of them in Kentucky, Louisiana, California and Oklahoma — toward service reductions or closure.”
  • “Those on Medicaid will pay more to see the doctor… The bill would require states that have expanded Medicaid to charge enrollees up to $35 for some services if their incomes are between the federal poverty level (this year, $15,650 for an individual) and 138% of that amount ($21,597). Medicaid enrollees often don’t pay anything when seeking medical services because studies have shown charging even small copayments prompts low-income people to forgo needed care.”

The New York Times: Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

  • “On average, that translates to about $560 in losses for someone who reports little to no income by 2034, and more than $118,000 in gains for someone making over $3 million, the report found… The disparity owes largely to the fact that Republicans aim to pay for their tax cuts by slashing programs for the poor, including Medicaid and food stamps. The cuts amount to one of the largest retrenchments in the federal safety net in a generation. But the savings they generate only offset a fraction of the total cost of the bill, which is expected to add more than $3 trillion to the federal debt by 2034.”

CNBC: Medicaid Cuts in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Leave Millions Uninsured, Threaten Rural Hospitals

  • “Recent changes to the bill would cut roughly $1.1 trillion in health-care spending and result in 11.8 million people losing health insurance over the next decade, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.”
  • “Trump’s bill combined with separate policy changes could result in an estimated 17 million people losing health insurance, said Robin Rudowitz, director of the program on Medicaid and the uninsured at health policy research organization KFF. She said those other changes include new regulations that would dramatically limit access to Affordable Care Act Marketplace coverage and expiring enhanced ACA tax credits.”

The Washington Post: At Least 17 Million Americans Would Lose Insurance Under Trump Plan

  • “The Senate version of President Donald Trump’s massive tax and immigration spending plan would wipe out many of the strides made by the Affordable Care Act in reducing the number of uninsured Americans, resulting in at least 17 million Americans losing their health coverage, according to nonpartisan estimates and experts.”
  • “[T]he Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate version of the bill would result in 11.8 million more uninsured in 2034, mostly because of Medicaid cuts, compared with 10.9 million if the House version became law.”
  • “[B]oth versions of the bill would allow pandemic-era enhanced subsidies for health insurance through ACA marketplaces to expire at the end of the year, sharply raising out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans. The CBO estimates that 4.2 million people would lose insurance as a result. An additional 1 million are likely to become uninsured because of a combination of other Trump administration cuts and the Republican legislation, according to the CBO.”
  • “The Republican bill, if enacted, would mark the biggest cut to Medicaid in the program’s nearly 60-year history and the biggest reduction in federal funding for the social safety net since at least the 1990s. The Senate version would cut $1.1 trillion of federal spending for Medicaid, Medicare and the ACA marketplaces, with Medicaid accounting for more than $1 trillion of the cuts.”

The Patriot-News: More Than 310K PA Residents Could Lose Medicaid Benefits Under GOP Tax Bill.

  • “The bill would also impact residents who purchase health insurance through Pennie, the state’s health insurance marketplace. The legislation does not extend enhanced premium tax credits available to Pennsylvanians who purchase health insurance through Pennie. The Shapiro administration calculates that an additional 270,000 Pennsylvanians could lose coverage.”
  • “Approximately three million Pennsylvanians receive healthcare coverage from Medicaid. The GOP bill is expected to increase Pennsylvania’s uninsured population by about 400,000 people, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Pennsylvania Health Access Network. The legislation could leave healthcare providers facing an increase in unpaid services, with estimates as high as 750 million dollars.”

The Times Union: NY Hospitals, Health Experts Warn of ‘Catastrophic’ Medicaid Impacts.

  • “They include nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, the joint federal and state health insurance program, which New York health officials have warned will translate to billions of dollars in losses to state health care facilities, as well as having ripple effects for jobs in that industry.”
  • “[U]p to 1.5 million New Yorkers are set to lose health insurance by 2027 under newly imposed restrictions on eligibility, including cutting off coverage entirely for roughly 225,000 non-U.S. citizens because of their immigration status. The state has estimated that 1.2 million residents will lose coverage under work requirements as well as a provision that would compel states to recertify that Medicaid recipients are eligible every six months. Critics have called that provision onerous and said it would cause more people to unknowingly fall off the Medicaid rolls. Hospitals and health care facilities in New York will experience an $8 billion cut, according to hospital leaders.”
ashoup
In News

HEADLINES: Republicans Pass Disastrous Budget That Will Strip Health Care Away From Millions 

Senate Republicans just voted to pass their Big, Ugly Bill, moving the legislation forward to the House. The bill funds massive tax breaks for the richest people and corporations by cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act — the largest cut to health care in American history. Republicans just voted to rip health care from 17 million Americans including children, seniors, people with disabilities and serious illnesses, and hardworking families who don’t get coverage through their employers. Not only will this bill set back uninsured rates to a level not seen in 15 years, it will force hundreds of hospitals and nursing homes to shut down, causing layoffs and hurting local economies across the country. 

Despite widespread opposition and polling that finds this bill is overwhelmingly unpopular across party lines, Senate Republicans voted it forward anyway. At a time when too many families already struggle to make ends meet, now is the time for so-called Republican moderates to stand up for hardworking Americans instead of billionaires, and reject such extreme health care cuts.

The Hill: Senate Megabill Marks Biggest Medicaid Cuts In History

  • “Senate Republicans on Tuesday passed the largest cuts to Medicaid since the program began in the 1960s, a move that would erode the social safety net and cause a spike in the number of uninsured Americans over the next decade. The tax and spending bill is projected to cost more than $3 trillion during that time, but would be partially paid for with about $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid. Almost 12 million lower-income Americans would lose their health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office… experts and health advocates say the CBO analysis confirms that despite Trump’s repeated pledges to only cut waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, the legislation would enact an unprecedented reduction in the program currently used by more than 70 million low-income Americans.”

NPR: Senate GOP Passes Trump’s Sweeping Policy Bill, Setting Up Decisive Vote In The House

  • “The bill would extend the tax cuts that were passed by Republicans in 2017, preventing a potential hike in rates at the end of this year when the current provisions are set to expire. Republicans are offsetting some of those costs… with major changes to Medicaid, the joint federal and state program that provides health care for roughly 70 million low-income, elderly and disabled Americans. Early estimates suggest around 11 million people could lose coverage under the GOP bill.”
  • “[Senator Susan] Collins wrote in a statement. ‘My vote against this bill stems primarily from the harmful impact it will have on Medicaid, affecting low-income families and rural health care providers like our hospitals and nursing homes.’”

STAT: Senate Passes Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill That Would Slash Medicaid Spending

  • “Medicaid cuts make up the lion’s share of the estimated $1.1 trillion in health care spending reductions that help pay for the tax cuts… Altogether, the bill would enact the largest cuts to federal health care spending in history, and the most sweeping changes for the industry since the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act. The Senate bill would lead to 11.8 million people losing health insurance over the next decade, CBO said Saturday night, nearly 1 million more people than projections for the House’s version of the bill. The higher enrollment losses in the Senate version are the result of more aggressive Medicaid funding cuts than the House bill.”

Politico: Lisa Murkowski Says It Was ‘Agonizing’ To Vote For The Megabill 

  • “The Alaska senator slammed the breaks on the legislation overnight but ultimately voted to advance it after winning key concessions for her state…But Murkowski touted changes she secured to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that would allow for “greater flexibility” for Alaska and extra support for rural hospitals “that is going to be very key.””

Rolling Stone: Senate Republicans Pass Trump’s Bill To Strip Health Care From Millions

  • “Senate Republicans have passed President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sprawling legislative package that is expected to kick millions off their health insurance, codify big tax cuts for the wealthy, give a massive funding boost to the administration’s mass deportation efforts, and screw over the nation’s poor with cuts to social services… The vote was 50-50, but Vice President J.D. Vance broke the tie. Republican Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) broke with their party and voted no on the legislation. Tillis announced earlier this week that he would not be seeking reelection after Trump said he would work to primary him amid his opposition to the bill.”

Axios: Senate Passes Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” After 11th-Hour Panic

  • “The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would add roughly $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years… CBO also estimates the changes to Medicaid would result in nearly 12 million fewer people with health insurance over the next decade.”
  • “It makes significant changes to the Medicaid program, including imposing work requirements and eventually lowering provider taxes from 6% to 3.5%.”

AP News: Senate Passes Trump’s Big Tax Breaks And Spending Cuts Bill As Vance Breaks 50-50 Tie

  • “It would impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements on able-bodied people, including some parents and older Americans, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states.”

The Guardian: Senate Republicans Pass Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill, Clearing Major Hurdle

  • “To satisfy demands from fiscal conservatives for cuts to America’s large federal budget deficit, the bill imposes new work requirements on enrollees of Medicaid, which provides healthcare to low income and disabled Americans… ‘It is inescapable this bill will betray the promise Donald Trump made,’ Tillis said on Sunday. Pointing to a forecast that the bill would cost 663,000 North Carolinians their Medicaid coverage, Tillis said: ‘What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there any more, guys?’”

NBC News: Senate Republicans Narrowly Pass Trump Megabill After Marathon Voting Session

  • “Voting against the final bill, alongside all 47 Democrats, were Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine. Paul opposed the bill because it would add trillions of dollars to the deficit, while Tillis and Collins feared the cuts to Medicaid were too steep.”
  • “It includes a surge of new funding… to carry out Trump’s immigration enforcement and mass deportation plans. It aims to pay for some of that with hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid…”
  • “Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., who represents a swing district, slammed the Senate bill’s more aggressive Medicaid funding cuts. ‘I’ve been clear from the start that I will not support a final reconciliation bill that makes harmful cuts to Medicaid, puts critical funding at risk, or threatens the stability of healthcare providers across CA-22,’ Valadao wrote on X over the weekend.”

New York Post: Senate Passes Trump’s Sweeping “Big Beautiful’ Agenda Bill, Sending It To The House For High-Stakes Showdown

  • “After more than a month of deliberation, the Senate modified the House version of the legislation to extend business tax reductions, deepen cuts to Medicaid, [and] increase the debt limit by $5 trillion… leadership agreed to deepen cuts to Medicaid from the version that passed the lower chamber last month, assuaging [Speaker] Johnson’s concerns.”

Washington Post: Senate Passes Trump’s Tax Bill, Sending It To House For Final Passage

  • “Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) repeatedly vowed the bill would not pass without deeper spending cuts. Instead, the Senate Finance Committee wrote a bill hundreds of billions of dollars more expensive than the House’s, and simultaneously more punitive toward Medicaid. That sent Tillis to the floor outraged with his party over he what he described as a ‘betrayal’ of constituents on the federal health insurance program. ‘The effect of this bill is to break a promise,’ Tillis bellowed Sunday on the Senate floor. ‘What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years,’ he added, ‘when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there anymore?’

IN THE STATES

Maine Public: Senate Budget Bill Passes; Healthcare Providers Say Patient Health Will Suffer If House Votes Yes

  • “The Senate Budget Reconciliation Bill, passed Tuesday, eliminates Medicaid reimbursements to healthcare providers who perform abortions. It now goes to the House for a vote. The president and CEO of Maine Family Planning is warning that House passage of the Budget Reconciliation Bill will result in a delay or loss of services for MaineCare patients who will be forced to pay out of pocket for contraception and other reproductive care. A nonprofit, Maine Family Planning provides services to about 40,000 Maine residents, half of whom rely on MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program.”

Maine Public: Sen. Susan Collins Opposes Trump Policy Bill, But GOP-Led Senate Passes It Anyway

  • “In a statement, Collins said she supported the bill’s extension of the Trump tax breaks from 2017. But she said its Medicaid cuts would cost Maine $5.9 billion over 10 years, threatening the sustainability of the program, its 400,000 beneficiaries and the rural hospitals that treat them.”

CT Mirror: CT Senators Cite A ‘Catastrophe’ As Senate Passes Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

  • “…even some Republicans are raising concerns about the effects of the bill, as evidenced by GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina saying he’ll vote no and deciding to retire amid Trump’s threat to back a primary challenger against him. Tillis pointed to the deep cuts to Medicaid that could hit his home state.”
  • “To pay for these tax provisions, the bill includes steep spending cuts, which would have a direct impact on some safety net programs and state finances…The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which analyzes and scores federal legislation, estimated that about 138,000 people could lose Medicaid coverage in Connecticut, with the higher end of enrollment loss up to 172,000. That estimate is based off of the House version of the bill.”

The American Prospect: Senate Passes Megabill as Murkowski Stays Bought

  • “By the thinnest of margins, the U.S. Senate completed work on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Tuesday morning, after Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) decided that she could live with a bill that takes food and medicine from vulnerable people to fund tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy… Medicaid provisions that would have boosted the federal share of the program for Alaska didn’t get through the parliamentarian; even a handwritten attempt to help out Alaska on Medicaid was thrown out at the last minute.”
  • “The wraparound amendment also doubled the size of the rural hospital fund to $50 billion. The Senate leadership’s initial offer on this fund was $15 billion. Overnight the Senate rejected an amendment from Collins that would have raised the rural hospital fund to $50 billion. Even at that size—which will be parceled out for $10 billion a year for five years—it hardly makes up for nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, which are permanent. The hospital system is expected to buckle as a result of this legislation, if it passes.”
ashoup
In News

Senate Rams Through Trump’s Big Ugly Bill, Ripping Coverage from Millions to Fund Tax Breaks for Wealthy

The GOP’s Tax Scam Represents the Largest Cuts to Health Care in American History 

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Republicans voted to pass, barely, Trump’s Big, Ugly Bill, which will fund massive tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals and corporations by ripping health care from 17 million Americans and slashing Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Despite widespread opposition from the American people, including voters across the political spectrum, Senate Republicans voted to pass the deepest cuts to health care in American history. In response, Protect Our Care President Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement: 

“Today, by the thinnest of margins, Senate Republicans voted to pass the biggest, ugliest bill in history. Republican Senators just voted to kick seniors out of nursing homes, rip health care away from disabled children, close rural hospitals, and snatch coverage away from 17 million Americans, all so Donald Trump and Republicans can give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. It’s a disgusting display of political chutzpah from a party that bullshitted its way through the last election proclaiming they would look out for working families and help make life more affordable for ordinary Americans.

It’s the lie of the decade, but one that will blow up on Republicans once millions of Americans realize their health care was ripped away so more billionaires can rent out entire European cities for lavish weddings. As this bill moves back to the House for a final vote, the choice for so-called Republican moderates is clear: protect the health care of the people you serve or give tax breaks to billionaires.”

BACKGROUND:

Here are five key ways the GOP tax scam will decimate health care for Americans:

  1. Republicans will cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to pay for handouts to the wealthiest Americans and corporations. The big, ugly bill will destroy the pillars of American health care with the largest cuts to health care in history, jeopardizing programs that nearly 100 million Americans rely on for their care – all to give trillions in tax breaks to billionaires and hugely profitable companies. To top it off, Republicans battled the Senate parliamentarian to sneak in a $5 billion giveaway to drug companies at the ninth hour, driving up the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and taxpayers.
  2. Republicans will rip away health care from 17 million Americans, including seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities, leaving them with nowhere to turn for treatment for cancer or diabetes. According to new estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, roughly a million more people will lose health care coverage under the Senate-passed bill.
  3. Republicans will hike premiums through the roof for over 20 million Americans by eliminating tax credits that make health care affordable for middle-class families, small business owners, and rural Americans. Premiums will nearly double on average for 22 million Americans and out-of-pocket costs will skyrocket for millions more, leaving 5 million additional Americans uninsured and unable to see a doctor when they need to.
  4. Republicans could shutter over 330 rural hospitals and 570 nursing homes across the country. The GOP bill will cut hundreds of billions in critical funding for hospitals and nursing homes, bury them under the burden of uncompensated care, and force hundreds to close their doors. Expectant mothers will be forced to travel further to get to the nearest maternity ward. Patients will have to travel hundreds of miles to get to an emergency room. Seniors will be forced to leave their nursing homes.
  5. Republicans will force at least 5.4 million more people into medical debt. Medical debt already affects 100 million people in America. 17 million people are expected to lose coverage due to GOP proposals and families losing coverage could see their medical debt increase as much as $22,280. American medical debt is expected to skyrocket by 15 percent, resulting in an additional $50 billion of medical debt.
ashoup
In News

HEADLINES: The Senate Version of the GOP Tax Scam Gets Worse By the Day

As Senate Republicans Race to Pass Their “Big, Ugly, Bill,” the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office Confirmed That Republicans Are Cutting $1 Trillion from Medicaid and Ripping Health Care From 17 Million To Fund Tax Breaks for Billionaires

As Senate Republicans worked through the weekend to push their “Big, Ugly Bill” to a vote, nationwide coverage continues to demonstrate just how devastating and unpopular this bill is for the American people. The House’s version of the bill was bad for health care and for ordinary Americans, but Senate Republicans managed to make it even worse, expanding the health care cuts and kicking even more hardworking Americans off their health care. New analysis from the nonpartisan CBO found that 17 million Americans would lose their health care – one million more than under the House’s version – and more than $1 trillion would be cut from Medicaid, confirming that Senate Republicans made the bill even worse for hospitals and Americans’ health care. 

Not only does this weekend’s coverage highlight how unpopular the bill is across the political spectrum, it calls out Republicans for their continued lies about what this bill would do. This bill gives billionaires and big corporations massive tax breaks by ripping health care from millions of children, seniors, people with disabilities, people fighting cancer or addiction, and hardworking families who don’t get coverage through their employers. Not only will people lose their care, hundreds of hospitals and nursing homes will shut down and middle-class and low-income Americans will face higher costs. The pressure is on so-called moderates like Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins to listen to the outcry from their states and  reject this devastating bill.

NATIONAL HEADLINES

New York Times: G.O.P. Bill Has $1.1 Trillion in Health Cuts and 11.8 Million Losing Care, C.B.O. Says 

  • Republicans’ marquee domestic policy bill that is making its way through the Senate would result in deeper cuts and more Americans losing health insurance coverage than the original measure that passed the House last month, according to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. According to a report published late Saturday night, the legislation would mean 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034. Federal spending on Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare would be reduced by more than $1.1 trillion over that period — with more than $1 trillion of those cuts coming from Medicaid alone.

Washington Post: Senate GOP Tax Bill Includes Largest Cut To U.S. Safety Net In Decades

  • The Senate Republican tax bill speeding to passage includes the biggest reduction of funding for the federal safety net since at least the 1990s, targeting more than $1 trillion in social spending. Although the legislation is still estimated to cost more than $3 trillion over the next decade, the Senate GOP tax bill partially pays for its large price tag by slashing spending on Medicaid and food stamps, which congressional Republicans maintain are rife with fraud.

KFF Health News: In a First, Trump and GOP-Led Congress Prepare To Swell Ranks of U.S. Uninsured

  • More than 26 million Americans lacked health insurance in the first six months of 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The uninsured are mostly low-income adults under age 65, and people of color, and most live in the South and West. The uninsured rate in the 10 states that, like Georgia, have not expanded Medicaid to nearly all low-income adults was 14.1% in 2023, compared with 7.6% in expansion states, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. Health policy researchers expect the number of uninsured to swell as the second Trump administration and a GOP-controlled Congress try to enact policies that explicitly roll back health coverage for the first time since the advent of the modern U.S. health system in the early 20th century. Under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — budget legislation that would achieve some of President Donald Trump’s priorities, like extending tax cuts mainly benefiting the wealthy — some 10.9 million Americans would lose health insurance by 2034, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office based on a House version of the budget bill. A Senate version of the bill could result in more people losing Medicaid coverage, with reductions in federal spending and rules that would make it harder for people to qualify.

The Bulwark: A $1 Trillion Medicaid Cut Is THIS Close to Happening. Here’s What It’d Look Like 

  • Enid Rodriguez Medicaid can make, because it’s made a huge difference for her. […] “Medicaid has literally been a lifesaver,” she told me this week, when we met at the Community Care Clinic of Rowan County, where she used to get care. But there was a tinge of anxiety in her voice, because, she said, she is worried the cuts in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill will leave her without coverage. “I wouldn’t be able to see the cardiologist who makes sure my heart is okay, the gastroenterologist who’s treating my gastrointestinal problems, the weight-loss specialist,” Rodriguez said. Medicaid isn’t perfect, she said, and she doesn’t expect government programs to provide everything she and her husband need. But, she said, “we shouldn’t have to work fifty-, sixty-hour weeks to pay our bills, and still struggle to take care of ourselves when it comes to our medical expenses.” But worry she must. Medicaid coverage for millions of Americans like Rodriguez is in jeopardy. In fact, it could be doomed in a matter of days.

Semafor: Senate Republicans Set Up Surprise Vote On Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion

  • Senate Republicans are setting up a surprise vote within the next 24 hours that could effectively end Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid for future recipients, with Majority Leader John Thune backing it. Thune’s endorsement aligns with key Senate conservatives who want even more aggressive Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s party-line tax and spending cuts bill. The vote can pass with only three GOP defections — and if it succeeds, it could prompt a rebellion against the bill among House Republican moderates.

New York Times: Why a G.O.P. Medicaid Requirement Could Set States Up for Failure

  • The strict Medicaid work requirement at the center of the Republicans’ major policy bill wouldn’t just require millions of poor Americans to prove they are employed to sign up for health insurance. It would also require dozens of states to quickly build expensive and complex software systems to measure and track who is eligible. This new responsibility for states, whose existing Medicaid computer systems are often outdated, would be accompanied by reduced federal funding through other changes in the bill. The result, according to state officials, software developers and policy experts, could be major failures in state systems for enrolling people in Medicaid.

Politico: Trump Pollster Warns Senate GOP Against Deeper Medicaid Cuts

  • Jim McLaughlin, one of President Donald Trump’s top pollsters, said Hill Republicans should nix Senate Republicans’ deeper Medicaid cuts in the megabill or risk deep backlash from voters. “The Senate needs to go back to the House version on Medicaid in the [One Big Beautiful Bill Act], just like the president wants,” Jim McLaughlin, who runs McLaughlin & Associates, told POLITICO Saturday. He continued: “The working class Americans who gave President Trump his overwhelming victory as well as majorities in the House and Senate deserve nothing less.”

Politico: Louisiana Hospitals Warn Mike Johnson Of ‘Devastation’ From Megabill

  • Every major health system in Louisiana is warning Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of the state’s congressional delegation that the Senate GOP’s planned Medicaid cuts “would be historic in their devastation.” The group sent the warning in a letter that also went to Majority Leader Steve Scalise and GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician who has also raised concerns about the cuts. The health systems said the Senate’s revised text hits states like Louisiana even harder than previous iterations and would slash more than $4 billion in Medicaid funding for the state’s health care providers.

IN THE STATES

ALASKA

  • New York Times: Opinion: Alaska Cannot Survive This Bill
  • Alaska Public Media: Legislators Argue Cuts In GOP Megabill Would Mean ‘Chaos’ For Alaska
  • Alaska Public Media: Advocates Worry ‘Big, Beautiful’ GOP Bill Would Push Alaskans Off Medicaid
  • Alaska Beacon: Alaska Becomes A Focus Of Last-Minute Changes To Big Federal Bill, As U.S. Senate Starts Debate
  • The Alaska Memo: The ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill Is Big And Ugly For Alaska
  • Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: The Proposed Medicaid Cuts Would Be A Disaster For Alaska Health Care 
  • Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: Medicaid Isn’t Just For ‘Them.’ It’s A Lifeline For All Of Us. 

ARIZONA

  • ABC 15: Local Medicaid Recipient Reacts To Potential Cuts From Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill
  • Arizona Daily Star: Local Opinion: Medicaid Saved My Mother’s Life
  • Tucson Sentinel: GOP Leaders In U.S. Senate Struggle To Lessen Pain Of Medicaid Cuts For Rural Hospitals 
  • Arizona Copper Courier: Arizona Advocates Warn Against Republican Cuts To Kids’ Healthcare, Food Programs

KENTUCKY

MAINE

  • Newsweek: Susan Collins Gets Warning From Maine Voters – Poll
  • Maine Morning Star: Calling Medicaid A ‘Lifeline’ For Mainers, Health Advocates Urge Collins To Oppose GOP Budget Bill  
  • Maine Public: Health Care Advocates Say Medicaid Cuts Will Have Severe Impacts In Maine 
  • Fox23Maine / KIMA: State Rep. Urges Sen. Collins to Vote Against ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ 
  • Maine Morning Star: Gov. Mills Warns Maine Cannot Absorb Cuts In Republicans’ ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
  • News Center Maine: Sen. Susan Collins Votes To Move Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Forward 
  • WGME: Maine Restauranters Speak Out Against GOP’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ 
  • Bangor Daily News: Opinion: Rural Maine Can’t Afford Hospital Losses That Republican Reconciliation Bill Would Bring
  • Maine Public: Health Care Advocates Say Changes To ACA Marketplace Plans Threaten Maine’s Healthcare System
  • Portland Press Herald: Maine’s Hospitals Say They’re Under Threat By Proposed Medicaid Cuts

WEST VIRGINIA

  • Public News Service: Report: WV Small Business Labor Force At Risk From Medicaid Cuts 
  • WVVA: Two Local Hospitals Could Close Under ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, Study Says
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 Fact Sheet, News, Research

FACT SHEET: Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill Will Kick Seniors Out Of Nursing Homes And Shutter Over A Quarter Of Facilities

Over A Quarter Of Nursing Homes Will Be Forced To Close Under The GOP Bill

Republicans are charging through the Senate with their reconciliation bill, which makes the largest cuts to health care in American history—including billions in critical funding for nursing homes. These Republican cuts will force more than a quarter of nursing homes to close their doors. If Senate Republicans are successful in passing the bill, millions of Americans will lose their access to care, kicking seniors in nursing homes to the curb, shuttering rural hospitals, and forcing people to travel further and wait longer for lifesaving care. By closing care facilities across the country, the GOP bill will not only rip care away from seniors, people with disabilities, and hard-working families across the country—thousands will lose their jobs and local economies would suffer. Families will be forced to choose between getting their loved one the care they need and putting food on the table, sick people will go without care, and people will die. The Republican big, ugly tax scam will kick 16 million Americans off their health care, cut Medicare, and throw our entire health care system into chaos.

By The Numbers: 

  • Medicaid pays for over six in ten (63%) residents in nursing homes. Without this care, seniors and people with disabilities will be left without the assistance they need for basic activities such as bathing, dressing, and walking.
  • Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term care in America. Medicaid paid for 44 percent of the $147 billion spent on institutional long-term care in 2023. 
  • The GOP is proposing $800 billion in Medicaid cuts at a time when 80 percent of nursing homes are on the brink of closure. These cuts would force more than a quarter of nursing homes to close their doors.
  • GOP Medicaid cuts will undermine the care workforce. More than half of nursing homes would be forced to cut staff at a time they are already facing widespread shortages. An estimated 477,000 health workers will lose their jobs as a result of GOP cuts to Medicaid, from nurses to physical therapists. 

How GOP Policies Will Hurt Nursing Homes, Seniors, and Americans With Disabilities

  • More Than A Quarter Of Nursing Homes Across The Country Will Be Forced To Close Their Doors. 774 nursing homes have already closed since the pandemic, displacing over 28,000 residents and leaving 40 additional U.S. counties without nursing home care. GOP cuts to Medicaid will exacerbate the nationwide nursing home shortage, forcing more than a quarter of U.S. nursing homes to close their doors and leaving numerous Americans without options for their loved ones’ care at time when 57 percent of nursing homes already have a waitlist for new residents.
  • Seniors and People With Disabilities Will Be Kicked To Curb. The Congressional Budget Office estimates at least 1.3 million seniors and people with disabilities will lose Medicaid due to GOP proposals, leaving them without coverage for long-term care. Republicans are pushing for the largest cuts to Medicaid in history which will also force states to cut back on the services they cover and potentially limit seniors’ access to nursing home care. The $800 billion in proposed cuts to the federal Medicaid budget is equivalent to 72 percent of federal funding for long-term care. Policies such as provider tax and state-directed payment restrictions will also make it harder and harder for states to financially support long-term care for a rapidly aging population with the number of adults over age 85 expected to more than double by 2040.
  • Families Will Go Into Debt Struggling To Afford Care For A Loved One. Since Medicare generally does not cover long-term care, families will be left without affordable options for long-term care for their moms, dads, and grandparents. The average cost of a nursing home is over $111,000 a year – a price tag out of reach for most families without assistance. Families who need help may be forced to go into financial debt to get their loved ones the care they need. Third Way estimates GOP proposals will push at least 5.4 million Americans into medical debt and result in $50 billion increase in total medical debt. Families who cannot afford more debt will be forced to cut back on their hours, quit their jobs, or make other sacrifices to look after their loved one.
  • The Already Struggling Care Workforce Will Be Devastated. Nursing homes across the country are already struggling with staffing shortages that can lead to poor quality of care. CMS estimates nursing facilities are nearly 80,000 short of the workers they need to provide adequate care. In 2024, 20 percent of nursing homes closed a unit, wing, or floor due to labor shortages. According to a recent survey from the American Health Care Association, more than half of nursing homes will be forced to cut staff due to GOP cuts to Medicaid. Nursing homes employ over 1.4 million Americans and 30 percent of direct care workers rely on Medicaid themselves for their health care and would be in danger of losing their coverage.
ashoup
In News, Commentary

ADVISORY: Protect Our Care’s Mobile Billboard to Circle Capitol Hill Urging Key Senate Republicans to Stand Up for Constituents, Not Billionaires, and Reject Health Care Cuts

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY JUNE 27*** 

View the Ads Here

Washington, D.C. – Protect Our Care is organizing a mobile billboard which will circle Capitol Hill and the Mall, targeting six key Senate Republicans as they race to pass their “Big, Ugly Bill” this weekend. On Friday, June 27 from 10 AM ET to 6 PM ET, the mobile billboard will play Protect Our Care’s ads targeting Lisa Murkowski (AK), Dan Sullivan (AK), Susan Collins (ME), Thom Tillis (NC), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), and Jim Justice (WV). 

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 coverage, but rural hospitals will shut down, seniors will be forced to leave their nursing homes, and people fighting cancer or addiction will lose access to critical treatment. Senate Republicans need to stand up for their constituents and reject this bill or face the consequences at the ballot box. 

WHAT: Mobile Billboard

WHERE: Capitol Hill and the Mall

WHEN: 10 AM ET to 6 PM ET

Sample Ad Script for ME:

Narrator: With everyday costs as high as they are, no one can afford to lose their health care. Yet, right now, some in Congress are trying to pass the biggest cut to Medicaid in history. 

Their plan means sixteen million Americans could lose health care. Seniors, veterans, and children with disabilities. All to give another tax break to billionaires and big corporations.

Our Senator, Susan Collins, can stop this from happening.

Call Senator Collins and tell her we’re counting on her to stop these cuts to our health care.

ashoup
In News

HEADLINES: Protect Our Care, Advocates Sound the Alarm In Key Senate States As Their Senators Consider Big, Ugly Bill

Over the past week, health care advocates and everyday Americans in Alaska, Maine, Missouri, North Carolina, and West Virginia have been sounding the alarm over the tax bill their Republican Senators are racing to pass. The bill would kick millions off their health care by making the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in history, all so Trump and the GOP can give tax breaks to big corporations and the wealthy. Millions of children and people with disabilities would lose coverage, seniors would be forced to leave their nursing homes, and people with cancer or serious medical conditions would lose lifesaving care. In rural states like these, Republican cuts would force hospitals to shut down, costing jobs and crippling local economies. Poll after poll shows that Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly disapprove of this bill. Now it’s on GOP Senators like Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, and Josh Hawley to listen to the outcry from their constituents, and reject this devastating bill.

ALASKA

  • Anchorage Daily News: Opinion from State Representative Mina: Alaskans Will Lose Under Proposed SNAP and Medicaid Cuts
  • Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: As An Anchorage Pediatrician, I See Every Day How the Proposed Medicaid Cuts Would Hurt Alaska Kids 
  • KBBI Homer: Homer Residents Protest Proposed Medicaid Cuts
  • KHNS Radio: Klukwan Teen Says Medicaid Gives Him the Resources to Live His Life
  • Anchorage Daily News: We’re Alaska Health Care Providers. Defunding Planned Parenthood Through Medicaid Cuts Will Harm Our Patients And Our Clinics.
  • Wasilla Frontiersman: Caregivers, Families Rally Against Proposed Medicaid Cuts In Wasilla

MAINE

  • Portland Press Herald: Maine’s Hospitals Say They’re Under Threat by Proposed Medicaid Cuts 
  • Bangor Daily News: Opinion: Rural Maine Can’t Afford Hospital Losses That Republican Reconciliation Bill Would Bring (paywalled, the full text is viewable here)

MISSOURI

  • KRCG: Missouri Officials Sound the Alarm on Medicaid Cuts 
  • 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
  • Ktvo (CBS Kirksville): Missouri Rural Areas May Experience Hospital Closures, Economic Impacts From Medicaid Cuts

NORTH CAROLINA 

  • 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 
  • Wilson Times: Our Communities, Hospitals Can’t Afford To Lose Medicaid

WEST VIRGINIA

  • WTAP: What Could The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Mean For West Virginians? 
  • Herald-Dispatch: Vigil Highlights Locals Concerns On Cuts To Medicaid
  • WV Metro News: Hospital Reps: Rural Healthcare Providers Would Be At Risk Under ‘Big, Beautiful’ Provisions
  • Charleston Gazette-Mail: Opinion from Brian McNicoll: Trump Must Find Other Places To Cut
  • The Intermountain: Medicaid, SNAP A Focus Of Proposed Bill 
  • WV Watch: Medicaid Matters For Oral Health 
  • Gazette-Mail: 6 Arrested During Sit-In At Capito’s Office, Charleston, WV
  • WV Watch: Six Arrested While Protesting Cuts To Medicaid, SNAP Outside Capito’s Charleston Office
  • WCHS-TV: Six Charged With Trespassing While Protesting At Sen. Capito’s Charleston Office
  • WV Watch: “Big, Beautiful Bill” Contains Severe Cuts To Programs For West Virginians With Disabilities
  • WTRF: West Virginia Organizations Push Back Against Senate Plan To Cut Medicaid And SNAP
  • WV Metronews: As ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Hits Home Stretch, Community Groups Urge Senators To Say ‘No’
  • WVVA-TV: As Coal Miners Face Layoffs, Federal Cuts To Public Assistance Also Loom
  • WV News: Gop Medicaid Cuts Threaten To Devastate Key Lifeline In West Virginia
  • 12WBOY: Mountaineer Food Bank Says SNAP Changes Means 9.5 Billion Fewer Meals
  • Logan Banner: Proposed Medicaid Cuts Would Be Detrimental, Health Leader Says; 7 Rural WV Hospitals Would Close
  • Appalachian Voices: Groups Urge Sens. Capito, Justice To Protect West Virginia
ashoup
In Commentary, News

ADVISORY: Protect Our Care Urges Senate Republicans to Reject Catastrophic Health Care Cuts With Lite Brite Display and Mobile Billboard

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY JUNE 26 AND FRIDAY JUNE 27***

View the Ads Here

Washington, D.C. – Protect Our Care is holding two events this week as Senate Republicans march towards a vote on their Big, Ugly Bill ahead of their self-imposed July 4th deadline. On Thursday, June 26 at 9 PM ET, a Lite-Brite display telling Republicans “Hands Off Health Care” will be held on the east front of the Senate steps. On Friday, June 27 from 10 AM ET to 6 PM ET, a mobile billboard will circle Capitol Hill and the Mall playing 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). The action follows Protect Our Care’s projection on the RNC building in D.C. which blasted Senators Mitch Connell and Joni Ernst for their comments mocking and dismissing constituents worried about Medicaid 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 rural hospitals will shut down, seniors will be forced to leave their nursing homes, and people fighting cancer or addiction will lose access to critical treatment. Senate Republicans need to stand up for their constituents and reject this bill or face the consequences at the ballot box. 

THURSDAY

WHAT: Lite-Brite Display

WHERE: East front of the Senate steps

WHEN: 9 PM ET

FRIDAY

WHAT: Mobile Billboard

WHERE: Capitol Hill and the Mall

WHEN: 10 AM ET to 6 PM ET

Sample Ad Script for ME:

Narrator: With everyday costs as high as they are, no one can afford to lose their health care. Yet, right now, some in Congress are trying to pass the biggest cut to Medicaid in history. 

Their plan means sixteen million Americans could lose health care. Seniors, veterans, and children with disabilities. All to give another tax break to billionaires and big corporations.

Our Senator, Susan Collins, can stop this from happening.

Call Senator Collins and tell her we’re counting on her to stop these cuts to our health care.

ashoup
In News

MCCONNELL EXPOSES TRUTH: Protect Our Care Blasts Republicans For Sen. McConnell’s Comment Telling Millions Who Lose Medicaid to “Get Over It”

Protect Our Care Projected Images Holding Senators McConnell and Ernst Accountable for Dismissing Constituents’ Concerns About the Health Care Cuts in the GOP’s Big, Ugly Bill


Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, 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 saying what Republicans are really thinking: They don’t care that their health care cuts will hurt people. Instead, people who lose Medicaid so the rich can get tax breaks will have to “get over it,” according to Mitch McConnell. 

The comment, made yesterday to GOP colleagues, comes weeks after Joni Ernst’s “We’re all going to die” comment that went viral. These flagrant dismissals of concerned constituents make one thing clear: Republicans know their “Big, Ugly Bill” will strip health care from millions to fund tax cuts for the wealthy – and they don’t care that it will hurt people. The bill will rip health care from 16 million Americans by making the largest Medicaid cuts in history and dismantling the Affordable Care Act. 

“These two Republican leaders have been exposed for spilling the truth about their megabill: they know it’ll hurt everyday Americans while giving tax breaks to the richest, and they don’t care,” said Protect Our Care President Brad Woodhouse. “Trump and these Republicans have no shame. You can’t make the largest health care cuts in history without taking care from children and people with disabilities, without kicking seniors out of nursing homes, and without raising costs and taking care from everyday Americans, and McConnell and Ernst just proved it. Instead of listening to the outrage pouring in from across the country and the political spectrum, Republicans are racing to pass this devastating bill and destabilize our health care system to put more money into the pockets of the ultra-wealthy, no matter how many lives it costs.”

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