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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

STATEMENT: Senators Klobuchar, Welch Introduce Legislation to Expand Medicare Drug Negotiations

As Democrats Move to Lower Drug Prices for Seniors, Republicans Are Working Behind the Scenes to Raise Costs and Rip Health Care From Millions

Washington, DC – Yesterday, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Peter Welch (D-VT) reintroduced the Strengthening Medicare and Reducing Taxpayer (SMART) Prices Act. This legislation would allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices for more drugs more quickly, including by increasing the number of prescription drugs that the Department of Health and Human Services can negotiate on and starting those negotiations sooner after a drug hits the market. It also gives Medicare the authority to negotiate greater discounts on drugs. As a result, seniors will pay less for their prescriptions, and taxpayers will save billions. Early this morning, House Republicans passed their tax bill which rips health care away from millions in order to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.

“Senators Klobuchar and Welch are fighting for seniors and their families by bringing down the high cost of prescription drugs,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Americans across the political spectrum support Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices and want to see the program expand. Instead, Trump and his cronies in Congress are charging ahead with their budget that not only guts Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to fund billionaire tax breaks, but hands billions in giveaways over to Big Pharma. 

“The contrast couldn’t be more clear. If Republicans are serious about wanting to lower drug prices and save taxpayer dollars, they should join Senators Klobuchar and Welch in passing the SMART Prices Act and deliver real, lasting relief for the American people.”

ashoup
In News

New Polling Shows Widespread Popularity of Expanding Medicare Drug Negotiations

While Republicans Work With Big Drug Companies to Ban Medicare Negotiation, Polling Shows Voters Across the Political Spectrum Support Expanding Lower Prices for Hard-Working Families

New polling from Fabrizio Ward commissioned by Arnold Ventures found that more than two-thirds of voters across the country and the political spectrum want to give Medicare power to negotiate lower prices for ALL drugs – expanding the Drug Price Negotiation Program, not contracting it. Medicare recently started negotiating the prices of some drugs for people with Medicare, but some in Congress are threatening to take that away – banning the negotiation of lower prices. 

Donald Trump and his Republican allies are working to weaken or ban Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices, which would increase costs for seniors and taxpayers –  all to line the pockets of big drug companies. Donald Trump recently signed an executive order designed by big drug companies to delay Medicare drug price negotiations. If Republicans ban or severely limit Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices, polling confirms that they will be turning their backs on their own constituents.

Meanwhile, Democrats lowered drug prices for people with Medicare without a single Republican vote, and they have since been fighting to expand these drug savings for hard-working families and give Medicare the authority to negotiate lower costs for more drugs more quickly. 

No Matter the Political Party Affiliation, Voters Want the Government to Negotiate Lower Drug Prices. 88 percent of all voters and 86 percent of Trump voters say it is important for the government to negotiate prices. 

A Majority of Voters Want Medicare to Negotiate the Price for All Prescription Drugs Right Now. 66 percent of Trump voters and 67 percent of swing voters want Medicare to negotiate the prices of all the prescription drugs it buys right now. And when given the choice between saving money to pay for Trump’s tax cuts by expanding Medicare negotiations or by cutting Medicaid, voters choose lowering drug prices by nearly 70 points.

A Large Majority Believe Prescription Prices Are Too High. 89 percent of all voters, including 89 percent of Trump voters, think Americans spend too much on prescription drugs. 

Over 90 Percent of Voters Want Congress to Reduce Prescription Drug Costs. 78 percent of all voters say it is very important and 13 percent of all voters say it is fairly important for Congress to take action. 

ashoup
In News

NEW REPORT: Republicans Are Trading Our Health Care for Tax Breaks for Billionaires

Read the Full Report Here.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Protect Our Care is releasing a new report holding Republicans accountable for putting profits over people during their ongoing war on the American health care system. Republicans passed a budget that cuts nearly a trillion from Medicaid, putting more than 72 million Americans who count on Medicaid at risk of losing health care coverage. At the same time, they are trying to raise costs on millions of hard-working families by ending the cost-saving tax credits. As a result, insurance premiums would increase by an average of 90 percent and 5 million people would lose their health coverage. Donald Trump and Republicans are also endangering millions of lives by making indiscriminate cuts to our public health infrastructure, sabotaging the integral health care systems, such as the Affordable Care Act, and installing anti-vaccine zealot RFK Jr. as Secretary of HHS. Recent polling from Hart Research and Protect Our Care found there is broad opposition across party lines to major elements of the Republican health care agenda.

“Republicans are waging a full-scale war on American health care at the expense of hard-working families across the nation,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Their agenda is crystal clear: give tax breaks to billionaires by ripping away health care, leaving the American people, including their own constituents and voters, behind. Between slashing Medicaid and taking away health care tax credits, they continue to put profits over people and line the pockets of their friends like Elon Musk and big corporations. The American people want and deserve better.”

Report Key Points:

Here’s a closer look at what’s in store if Republicans get their way: 

  • Slashing almost a trillion dollars from Medicaid, forcing people to choose between health care and putting food on the table. In every state, hundreds of thousands of seniors, children, and working families could lose their health insurance thanks to Republican plans to cut almost a trillion dollars from Medicaid. 
  • Imposing burdensome work requirements for people on Medicaid: Republicans’ latest proposal of burdensome work requirements has one goal: make it harder for people to qualify for Medicaid, slash benefits, and deny up to 36 million people access to health care so they can fund more tax breaks for billionaires and corporations. Work requirements only increase the red tape that hard-working families must go through to obtain affordable health care. 
  • Hiking premium costs: Millions of families who use private health insurance saved an average of $2,400 per year on their premiums thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act’s advanced premium tax credits, but Republicans want to end these savings and raise costs for over 24 million Americans.
  • Ripping away protections for people with pre-existing conditions: The GOP plans to repeal and sabotage the ACA, meaning the 135 million people with pre-existing conditions like asthma, cancer, and diabetes would lose critical protections that prevent insurance companies from charging them higher premiums or denying their coverage. 
  • Raising prescription drug prices: Republicans want to once again give drug companies full control of padding their profits by banning Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices. This would raise government spending and increase costs for seniors and their families.
  • Stopping medical research, and stopping medical debt relief: Over the first three months of his administration, Donald Trump and his Republican allies have increased the prices of prescription drugs, including cancer and heart medications as well as vital antibiotics, delayed implementation of a Biden administration rule that barred medical debt from showing on credit reports, cut NIH grants, halted all studies and activities within the NIH relating in any capacity to LGBTQ+ health, including active research programs, and violated court orders to halt funding freezes to organizations like the NIH.
  • Keeping insulin costs high: Republicans rejected legislation to cap insulin costs for millions of people with diabetes nationwide. Now they want to raise costs for seniors by repealing the cap for people who rely on Medicare. As many as one in four of the 7.5 million Americans dependent on insulin are skipping or skimping on doses, a life-threatening practice no one in this country should have to bear.
ashoup
In News

New Polling Underscores Deep Unpopularity of the Trump-Republican Health Care Agenda

From RFK Jr. to Medicaid Cuts, the GOP is Totally Out of Step With the American People 

New polling from the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago reveals just how unpopular the Republican health care agenda is among the American people. Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Not only does he lack the experience and qualifications necessary for any role in overseeing our nation’s health care programs, but this new polling shows he’s also deeply unpopular. For years, Kennedy has fueled disinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccinations that have had deadly consequences. His sole focus will be pushing radical policies that are widely disliked and put health care for millions at risk. In addition, Republicans are trying to take Medicaid away so they can fund more tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations, including the CEOs at some of the largest drug and insurance companies. 

In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“From the nomination of RFK Jr. to Medicaid cuts, the Republican health care agenda is wildly unpopular with the American people. Republicans want to rip Medicaid away from millions of Americans so they can give massive tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations. At the same time, the nomination of RFK Jr. poses a threat to the health and well-being of everyone in this country. This agenda is totally out of step with the American people. Across the country people want their representatives to do more to lower costs and improve care — not rip it away from those who need it most so millionaires and billionaires can get another tax cut.”

KEY POINTS

Ahead of RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings, Polling Shows His Nomination Is Deeply Unpopular. 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. 

As Republicans Propose Cuts, Voters Think The Government Is Not Spending Enough on Medicare and Medicaid. When asked what they think about how much the government is spending on Medicare, a majority (61%) said the government is not spending enough. When asked what they think about how much the government is spending on Medicaid, a majority (55%) said the government is not spending enough.

Bottom Line: Americans Have No Confidence in Trump’s Handling of Health Care. When asked about their confidence in Donald Trump’s ability to handle health care, nearly half of voters (46%) said they had no confidence at all. 

euriel
In News, Report, Research

REPORT: The MAGA Republican War on Medicare

Download the PDF version of this report

Chapters

Introduction
Raising Drug Prices and Premiums
Slashing Medicare Benefits
Conclusion

The MAGA Republican War on Medicare

The MAGA Project 2025 Agenda Will Raise Drug Prices and Premiums, Ban Drug Negotiation, and Slash Benefits

Introduction

The Trump-MAGA Republican Project 2025 agenda is clear: Medicare is on the chopping block. While in office, Trump attempted to slash Medicare’s budget every year and push seniors into privatized plans that line insurance company pockets at the expense of their access to care and taxpayers’ wallets. And now Trump is saying the quiet part out loud this cycle: if he wins, he will come for Medicare. Republicans have targeted Medicare cuts for decades, and they certainly have no plans to back down. The 2025 Medicare open enrollment period kicks off on October 15, and 67.5 million seniors will begin signing up for their plans. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare is better than ever. Seniors and people with disabilities will save money on prescription drugs and vaccines, with new benefits including:

  • A $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on prescription drugs starting January 1, saving nearly 19 million Americans an average of $400 each year
  • A $35 monthly copay cap on insulin for 4 million Americans on Medicare who use insulin
  • Free shingles and other essential vaccinations
  • Medicare negotiation for lower drug prices with savings starting in 2026
  • Protections from drug company price hikes thanks to inflation rebates

These new benefits are at grave risk: The cost-saving measures in the Inflation Reduction Act were passed in Congress without a single Republican vote and are under attack by Donald Trump and Republican Members of Congress. Millions of seniors finally have the breathing room they need in order to pay for other essentials like food and housing, or transportation to visit their grandchildren – but Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans want to rip it all away.

When Donald Trump was in office, he slashed $25 billion from Medicare programs. In his second term, he plans to cut a whopping $845 billion more. Trump’s friend, MAGA Republican Rick Scott even proposed sunsetting Medicare after five years. When Trump was unable to pass the most radical GOP plans for Medicare, he signed an executive order pushing seniors into expensive private plans to pad insurance company profits. Trump gave billions in tax breaks to drug and health insurance companies and executives during his first term, and wants to slash tens of billions from Medicare to pay for more tax breaks for the wealthy.

For decades, Republicans have sought cuts to Medicare. One of Donald Trump’s promises on the 2020 campaign trail was also significant cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare if he won a second term. Project 2025 builds upon these promises and offers insight into the MAGA framework for stripping Medicare coverage from seniors and people with disabilities, increasing prescription drug prices, increasing fraud throughout the system, and forcing them to pay more for their health care across the board.

If Trump and his MAGA allies get their way:

GONE: The $2,000 Annual Out-of-Pocket Limit. People enrolled in Medicare Part D will no longer have any limit to out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. The $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cost cap starting January 1, would have saved nearly 19 million Americans an average of $400 each year.
GONE: $35 Insulin. A $35 monthly copay cap on insulin for 4 million Americans on Medicare who use insulin will no longer be in place.
GONE: Medicare Drug Price Negotiation. Medicare will lose the power to negotiate lower drug prices for 80 of the costliest and most commonly used drugs in Medicare by 2030. Seniors who are tired of paying up to eight times more for their prescription drugs than people in other countries will return to being at the mercy of drug company greed.
GONE: Protection Against Outrageous Drug Company Price Hikes. Drug companies will no longer face penalties for hiking their prices beyond the rate of inflation. These penalties saved nearly 770,000 seniors directly on their drug costs and saved taxpayers and people on Medicare $3 billion.
GONE: The Expansion of Free Coverage for Low-Income Seniors. Eligibility for the Medicare Extra Help subsidy program will be reduced, restricting a program that makes prescription drugs more affordable for 1 million lower-income seniors and people with disabilities, with up to 13.1 million more eligible but not yet enrolled.
GONE: Medicare Reimbursements For Life-Saving Care. The 5 million people on Medicare would see life-saving health care threatened due to spending cuts.
GONE: Free Vaccines. Over 4 million Americans will lose access to free vaccines. Repealing free vaccine access would force people on Medicare to pay up to $424 for the shingles vaccine again.
GONE: Funding For Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care. Funding for nearly two-thirds of long-term residents in nursing homes would dry up.
GONE: $200 Billion in Medicare Funding Every Year. New enrollees will be pushed into privatized Medicare plans that restrict their choices of doctors and hospitals, leading to a $200 billion annual giveaway to corporations at the expense of people on Medicare and taxpayers without improving care.

The MAGA Project 2025 Agenda: Raising Drug Prices and Premiums

Killing Out-of-Pocket Cost Caps

MAGA Republicans Want People on Medicare to Pay More For Prescription Drugs. MAGA Republicans want to kill the Inflation Reduction Act, which will cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs starting on January 1. Millions of people in Medicare still struggle to pay for life-saving prescriptions or treatments, with Black Americans on Medicare being nearly twice as likely than their white counterparts to stop taking a prescription due to cost. Hispanic/Latino Americans over 65 are also 1.5 times as likely to have challenges affording out-of-pocket prescription costs. The Inflation Reduction Act caps annual out-of-pocket spending to $2,000 for over 54 million Americans beginning in 2025. If repealed, people on Medicare could face skyrocketing costs.

Republicans have been working on ending this benefit ever since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, proposing legislation that would increase out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced multiple pieces of legislation to repeal the new out-of-pocket cap that will protect seniors from high prescription drug costs. Over 20 House Republicans sponsored a bill to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.

This cap could mean the difference between life and death for the countless seniors relying on high-cost drugs for complex conditions such as Crohn’s disease. The 3.2 million on Medicare who are expected to reach the cap in 2025 will save an average of $1,500 per year on out-of-pocket costs – saving nearly 19 million Americans an average of $400 each year.

Ending The Insulin Copay Cost Cap

MAGA Republicans Want to Keep Profits High for Manufacturers and Insulin Costs Unaffordable For Seniors. For years, Republicans rejected legislation to cap insulin costs for millions of people with diabetes nationwide – even though as many as one in four Americans dependent on insulin are skipping or skimping on doses, a life-threatening practice no one in the country should have to bear. On average, seniors with Medicare Part D or B who are not receiving subsidies paid an average of $572 every year for this life-saving medication before the cap went into effect – an unthinkable sum for many on fixed incomes. Patients who suffer chronic complications could expect to pay upwards of an additional $650 per year.

The outrageous prices of insulin, a drug vital for the survival of nearly 4 million Americans on Medicare, forced 80 percent of Americans with diabetes to take out debt to pay for their prescriptions. The Inflation Reduction Act capped insulin prices at no more than $35 for all people on Medicare, saving them up to $1,500 annually. Meanwhile, MAGA Republicans are blocking efforts to expand the insulin copay cap to Americans on Medicaid, ACA plans, and private health insurance plans while fighting to protect multibillion-dollar tax breaks they passed for large corporations profiting off of insulin.

Fueling Unadulterated Drug Company Price Hikes

MAGA Republicans Want Big Drug Companies To Impose Outrageous Price Increases On Seniors Without Any Consequences. MAGA Republicans who want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act are seeking to end a provision that penalizes drug companies for raising drug prices faster than the rate of inflation. For too long, drug companies have charged whatever they want for lifesaving medications while seniors cut pills and skipped doses because of high costs. Drug costs have soared, leaving seniors forced to make impossible decisions between the drugs they need and the drugs they can afford.

Over the past 20 years, price increases for brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation. During Trump’s first year in office, the list prices of 20 of the top 25 drugs covered by Medicare Part D increased between three and nine times the rate of inflation, according to KFF. AARP found that annual drug costs for the drugs most commonly used by seniors rose 5.8 percent in 2018, more than twice the rate of inflation. Likewise, drug prices increased an average of 21 percent in 2019 and grew faster than inflation in 2020. An analysis by KFF showed that half of all drugs covered by Medicare had list price increases exceeding the rate of inflation in 2020. For example, AbbVie has hiked the price of its blockbuster drug Humira 27 times, including in January 2021 when it raised its cost by 7.4 percent. Since this provision went into effect, manufacturers of 98 drugs have been penalized, saving at least 770,000 seniors directly on their drug costs, and saving people with Medicare and taxpayers nearly $3 billion.

Banning the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program

MAGA Republicans Want to Ban Medicare From Negotiating Lower Drug Prices. MAGA Republicans seeking to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act want to end the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation program. Americans currently pay two to four times more for prescriptions than people in other countries and if Republicans have their way it will stay like that. Negotiating lower prices remains overwhelmingly popular among voters of all parties across the country, including 77 percent of Republican voters. Despite bipartisan support from the American people, the Inflation Reduction Act passed without a single vote from Republicans in Congress, and now some are working to repeal all of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing measures. The same Republican lawmakers who unanimously voted to maintain the status quo and keep health care costs high are fighting to repeal the drug pricing measures of the Inflation Reduction Act and extend tax breaks for the wealthy.

  • For The First Time In History, Medicare Is Finally Negotiating Lower Drug Prices For Seniors. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats in Congress gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices on behalf of seniors. These prices will take effect in 2026 and the administration will continue to negotiate more drugs every year, totaling 80 drugs by 2030. After a successful first round of negotiations, the administration announced lower prices for ten of the costliest drugs on the market. Medicare has already negotiated 38 to 79 percent lower list prices for the ten drugs that make up around 20 percentof all Medicare Part D spending. The first ten drugs selected for the first round of negotiations are taken by nearly 9 million people on Medicare, who spent $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs last year alone. The ten drugs included in the first round of negotiations are Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and Fiasp. The newly lowered prices for the first round of drugs will save seniors thousands of dollars and will save taxpayers billions. These newly lowered prices would have saved seniors $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs and saved taxpayers $6 billion if they had been in effect in 2023.
  • While Democrats Are Working To Expand The Inflation Reduction Act’s Prescription Drug Savings, Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans Want To Go Backwards. Democrats want to build on the drug pricing reforms to lower drug prices for all Americans. Meanwhile, Republicans are continuing to side with drug industry lobbyists by trying to stop Medicare from negotiating lower prices and prevent corporations from paying their fair share in taxes.

Giving Tax Breaks To Big Drug Companies While Raising Drug Prices for Seniors

MAGA Republican Efforts To Ban Medicare Drug Negotiations Are Driven By Nothing More Than Corporate Greed. The MAGA Republican Study Committee (RSC)’s latest budget proposal would repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and strip Medicare’s power to negotiate prices, costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and placing these equity-advancing improvements at risk while drug companies hoard record profits. If these efforts succeed, companies like Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb, who already spent over $100 million to lobby against the initial passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, will continue raking in billions annually on drugs with no generic alternative while sick Americans skip doses because of drug company greed.

Republicans continue to give into lobbying campaigns by the pharmaceutical industry, turning their backs on the American people by standing in opposition to any legislation reducing drug prices. During his administration, former President Trump was an ally of the pharmaceutical industry. He signed a $1.5 trillion tax bill that disproportionately benefited the wealthy and reduced the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, giving billions in tax breaks to drug and health insurance companies and executives. Collectively, fourteen of the largest drug companies in the U.S. have already spent $62 billion this year lining the pockets of shareholders. Trump wants to gut Medicare and other health programs to fund tax breaks that ensure these rich shareholders get their billions in buybacks tax-free.

In the meantime, while industry lobbyists attempt to paint a grim future to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, CEOs are boasting record profits, upgrading their long-term revenue projections, and stating confidence in their ability to navigate the new legislation. Farxiga manufacturer AstraZeneca’s CEO Pascal Soriot bragged in July, “We recorded a record second quarter with almost $13 billion in revenue.” Drugmakers filed cases in eleven courts across the country to stop Medicare from negotiating. The same pharmaceutical companies suing the federal government over the Inflation Reduction Act are continuing to rake in multibillion-dollar profits, upgrade their long-term forecasts, and handsomely reward their shareholders. Drug company CEOs and executives want to pad their profits and keep costs high for seniors. If they get their way, it would mean higher drug prices and higher premiums for seniors already struggling to keep up with the high cost of living.

The MAGA Project 2025 Agenda: Slashing Medicare Benefits

Medicare has always been on MAGA Republicans’ chopping block. When they controlled the White House, House, and Senate between 2017 and 2021, they enacted and proposed multiple pieces of legislation that capped Medicare programs, cut benefits, and reduced spending. Trump proposed substantial cuts to Medicare in every single one of his budgets as President, including over $845 billion in cuts and reallocations from Medicare spending in 2020. One of the shining pillars of the Trump administration, the 2017 tax law, slashed over $25 billion in funding for Medicare within just one year of the cuts going into effect.

The Republican record of trying to cut Medicare did not improve after 2020. All but nine House Republicans and more than half of Republican Senators voted against the 2022 funding bill protecting Medicare from spending cuts as the COVID-19 public health emergency ended. In 2023, Republicans came out in droves supporting cuts to Medicare. From the Republican House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith floating potential Medicare cuts to Rep. Bruce Westerman supporting caps in Medicare spending, it is clear that top Republicans are itching to cut Medicare spending. Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy even proposed cuts to Medicare during the 2023 session, with support from the Republican Study Committee and many influential House members like House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan and Rep. Chip Roy. They also advocated for a 2024 budget that would have included over $58 billion more cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Slashing Medicare Coverage

MAGA Republicans Want to Slash Medicare Spending and Coverage. As recently as March of 2024, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) and Trump’s Project 2025 introduced proposals that would slash Medicare spending and increase costs to seniors. They follow a similar lane to Republicans’ 2024 budget proposal which seeks to privatize Medicare and raise the retirement age. Moving into budget negotiations for 2023, prominent Republicans including RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Senators Rubio and Ron Johnson, and Representative Matt Gaetz initially backed an 11-point plan pitched by Senator Rick Scott which would have sunset all government programs including Medicare after five years. The RSC proposal, which includes over $16 trillion in cuts to programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, follows other GOP proposals to sunset all federal programs after five years, including Medicare – threatening health coverage for 67.5 million seniors and people with disabilities. Trump wants to slash tens of billions from Medicare to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.

  • Over 67.5 Million Seniors Could See Life-Saving Health Care Threatened. In 2023, there were over 5 millionAmericans enrolled in Medicare. These people rely on Medicare for life-saving services like doctor visits, prescription drugs, hospital, and nursing home care. Cuts to key Medicare programs would see millions of seniors at risk of having worse care, less access to facilities and physicians, and less choice for vital prescriptions, all while raising out-of-pocket costs.
  • MAGA Republicans Want to Curb Physician Reimbursement Dramatically and Cut Hospital Spending, Reducing Quality of Care and Limiting Provider Choice. Cuts like those recommended by the Trump administration would have significantly reduced payments to health providers, including hospitals. The nearly $900 billion in cuts and reallocations would have left hospitals more short-staffed than ever. For people on Medicare to receive the quality and affordable health care they are entitled to, they must have access to the physicians and facilities that provide that care. Republican cuts to Medicare could also see physician reimbursements fall, meaning fewer doctors able to take in fewer patients and, on average, located further away from people who rely on Medicare.
  • MAGA Republicans Want to End Anti-Fraud Measures that Protect Seniors from Price Gouging and Waste. House Republicans and Trump’s Project 2025 have proposed ending the Stark Law, which bans physicians from self-referring patients to facilities and services in which they have a financial stake. In addition to having a clear conflict of interest, these controversial physician-owned hospitals provide limited or no emergency services, cherry-pick the most potentially profitable patients, and incur significantly higher costs on the Medicare program. According to the HHS, up to one-third of these hospitals may violate Medicare requirements by relying on publicly funded services to stabilize patients while still charging the patients exorbitantly. The Affordable Care Act’s closing of the “whole hospital” exception loophole in the Stark Law reduced the federal deficit by half a billion dollars over ten years and President Biden with the ending of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) reinstituted these restrictions protecting patients and taxpayers from fraud and abuse; Republicans repealing it will cost the federal government and the American people millions of dollars annually. 

Cutting Medicare Benefits

MAGA Republicans Want to Shrink Part D Coverage Subsidies For Lower-Income Seniors and People with Disabilities on Medicare. The Inflation Reduction Act expanded eligibility for the Extra Help program, which subsidizes prescription drug coverage premiums for seniors with limited resources and incomes up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, or $21,870 per year as of 2023. 1.1 million lower-income seniors and people with disabilities are currently enrolled in the program, and up to 13.1 million more are eligible but not yet enrolled. Seniors save an estimated $300 a year on average in out-of-pocket costs by receiving full benefits instead of partial benefits. By repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, Republicans would repeal this program, putting affordable prescription drug coverage further out of reach for millions of seniors. 

MAGA Republicans Want to Reintroduce Costs for People on Medicare Based on Their Health Status. MAGA Republicans are pushing to allow Medicare to conduct medical underwriting to determine costs and coverage. Medical underwriting is a process in which insurance companies can discriminate against people and refuse to allow them onto health insurance plans based on that individual’s medical history. Trump’s Project 2025 proposes basing Medicare payments on the health status of a patient so that health providers can price gouge those who need health care the most. Allowing medical underwriting in Medicare would disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities who face health disparities due to systemic barriers to health care access, as well as people with chronic illness – and higher costs will only result in expanded treatment disparities.

MAGA Republicans Want to Push Seniors Into Privatized Medicare Plans, Padding Insurer Profits, Wasting Billions, and Propelling Medicare Towards Bankruptcy. Trump’s Project 2025 proposes making privatized Medicare Advantage plans the default for new enrollees. These plans cost 22 percent more on average per person. Pushing seniors into these plans would lead to a $200 billion annual giveaway to corporations and push Medicare towards bankruptcy – at the expense of people on Medicare and taxpayers without improving care. Experts estimate that if Medicare Advantage rose to 75 percent of Medicare enrollment, the program would waste nearly $2 trillion over 10 years on excess payments to these private plans “without any real improvement in health care quality for enrollees.” Even now, as lawmakers have worked to rein in overpayments, some Medicare Advantage plans are pulling back benefits; of the 25 MA parent organizations by number of plan offerings, 76 percent are decreasing their offerings ahead of the upcoming open enrollment period. MA plans are also known to systematically underpay rural providers and deny coverage to rural Americans. Pushing seniors to MA plans would put rural hospitals at risk of closing and seniors at risk of losing access to care.

Ending Free Vaccines For Seniors and People with Disabilities on Medicare

MAGA Republicans Want to End Free Vaccine Access For Over 4 Million Americans On Medicare. Before the Inflation Reduction Act, people on Medicare had to pay out-of-pocket copays for many recommended vaccines, such as shingles and RSV. In 2020 alone, more than 4,108,000 Americans received a vaccine through Medicare’s prescription drug benefit. Now, everyone enrolled in Medicare Part D has access to free vaccines, such as shingles and pneumonia, at no cost. Seniors on Medicare Part D are saving over $400 on average on vaccinations in 2023. The high out-of-pocket cost of the shingles vaccine has been a key factor in low vaccination rates, especially among Black and Latino communities. This has extended an important affordable preventive service to seniors on Medicare; Americans with private insurance could already typically receive shingles vaccinations at no cost. Repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, and with it, free vaccine access, would force seniors to pay up to $424 for the shingles vaccine again.

Cutting Funding For Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care

MAGA Republicans Want to Cut Funding For Nearly Two-Thirds of Long-Term Residents in Nursing Homes. Republicans are also pushing for cuts to Medicaid, which covers nursing home bills for over 60 percent of residents in nursing homes. In 2019, this totaled over $50 billion. The median private nursing home room can cost over $100,000 annually. Medicaid caps or cuts would see more seniors without the financial resources to afford long-term care. In contrast, Vice President Harris recently released a new proposal to shift nursing home coverage from Medicaid to Medicare and add an in-home health care benefit to Medicare – in addition to vision and hearing care.

Conclusion

The evidence is damning – the MAGA Trump Project 2025 agenda is a clear danger to seniors across the nation. Instead of supporting the tens of millions of Americans who rely on Medicare for health care, Trump and his MAGA allies want to slash spending, raise costs, and reduce coverage while increasing waste and giving tax breaks to big drug companies and the wealthiest Americans. The radical MAGA Medicare agenda threatens millions of older adults, people with disabilities, and their families and benefits the corporations and ultra-wealthy who profit off Americans’ illness.

Download the PDF version of this report
ashoup
In News

PRESS CALL: Governor Lujan Grisham Joins Protect Our Care to Sound the Alarm on the Republican War on Medicare

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY OCTOBER 28, 2024 AT 12 PM ET // 10 AM MT***

The MAGA Project 2025 Agenda Will Raise Drug Prices and Premiums, Ban Drug Negotiation, and Slash Benefits For Millions of Seniors

Washington, D.C. — On Monday, October 28, 2024, at 12 PM ET // 10 AM MT, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) and Richard Fiesta from Alliance for Retired Americans will join Protect Our Care to sound the alarm on Republican threats to Medicare. Medicare Open Enrollment kicked off on October 15, and millions of seniors have begun selecting their plans for 2025. New benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act are saving people thousands of dollars a year on their prescription drugs, but MAGA Republicans want to roll all of this back and hike costs for seniors and people with disabilities nationwide.  

During the call, Protect Our Care will release a new report outlining how Medicare is on the chopping block if Donald Trump gets his way. The MAGA Project 2025 agenda includes repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, hiking prescription drug costs, and stopping Medicare from negotiating lower prices. Republicans also want to slash tens of billions from Medicare to pay for more tax breaks for the wealthy. 

PRESS CALL

WHO:
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)
Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of Alliance for Retired Americans
Mary Jane Steinhagen, Minnesota Storyteller
Leslie Dach, Chair of Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference 

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Monday, October 28, 2024, at 12 PM ET // 10 AM MT

ashoup
In News, Fact Sheet, Research

FACT SHEET: Medicare Open Enrollment Brings New Benefits and Savings for Millions of Seniors

Seniors Will Save in 2025 Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act: $2,000 Annual Out-of-Pocket Cap, $35 Monthly Insulin Cost Cap, and Free Vaccines 

Medicare open enrollment begins on October 15 and runs through December 7. Starting October 1, seniors can begin reviewing coverage options for 2025. Seniors will see that   Medicare is better than ever thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. Seniors will save money on drugs and vaccines, and can expect their premiums to remain stable or even decrease. The cost saving measures in the Inflation Reduction Act were passed in Congress without a single Republican vote and are under attack by Donald Trump and Republican Members of Congress. 

Starting January 1, 2025 people on Medicare will benefit from a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap on prescription drug costs. This is in addition to benefits that went into effect on January 1, 2023: recommended vaccines are now free, monthly insulin costs are capped at $35 per prescription, and drug companies cannot take advantage of seniors by raising drug prices faster than the rate of inflation without penalty. Additionally, starting in 2026, Medicare beneficiaries will see lower drug prices across the board thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, which will save seniors and taxpayers billions of dollars and put downward pressure on premiums.

Seniors Will Pay Less for Health Care 

The Inflation Reduction Act is drastically reducing the cost of prescription drugs for the more than 50 million Americans enrolled in Medicare’s Part D drug benefit, reducing racial, income, and geographic disparities in health care, and saving lives. Seniors will finally have the breathing room they need to pay for other essentials like food and housing, or transportation to visit their grandchildren.

By the Numbers:

  • Over 50 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries will have out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs capped at $2,000 per year starting January 1, 2025. 
  • Medicare beneficiaries no longer face big drug companies’ outrageous price hikes that exceed inflation. 
  • All Medicare Part D beneficiaries have access to free vaccines, such as shingles and pneumonia, at no cost.
  • No Medicare beneficiary pays more than $35 a month for an insulin copay.
  • Lower prices were negotiated for the first 10 drugs selected for the Negotiation Program, with more drugs to be named each year. Nearly 9 million people on Medicare rely on these drugs and spent $3.4 billion on them in out-of-pocket costs last year alone.
  • Total monthly Part D premiums are expected to decrease by $7.45 (13%) on average from 2024 to 2025.

The Inflation Reduction Act Lowers Prescription Drug Prices

$2,000 Annual Out-of-Pocket Spending Cap. Starting January 1, 2025, no senior on Medicare Part D will spend more than $2,000 a year on prescription drugs. This cap could mean the difference between life and death for the countless seniors relying on high cost drugs for complex conditions such as multiple myeloma. The 3.2 million on Medicare who are expected to reach the cap in 2025 will save an average of $1,500 per year on out-of-pocket costs. By 2029, 4.1 million enrollees, including one in ten seniors in 19 states and DC will benefit from the new annual out-of-pocket limit. 

Medicare Negotiation For Lower Drug Prices. In August, the Biden-Harris administration announced new, lower prices for ten of the most expensive and commonly used drugs among people with Medicare: Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and Fiasp/ NovoLog. Nearly 9 million people on Medicare rely on these drugs and spent $3.4 billion on them in out-of-pocket costs last year alone. These prices go into effect in 2026,  and will save seniors $1.5 billion out-of-pocket and save taxpayers an additional $6 billion in the first year alone.  Over 80 percent of Americans support Medicare negotiating lower drug prices — the most popular provision in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

$35 Insulin Cap For Seniors. In 2020, there were more than 3.2 million insulin users with Medicare, with nearly 1.7 million purchasing their insulin without low-income subsidies. On average, seniors with Medicare Part D or B who are not receiving subsidies pay an average of $572 every year for this life-saving medication — an unthinkable sum for many on fixed incomes. Patients who suffer chronic complications can expect to pay upwards of an additional $650 per year. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, monthly insulin copays for people on Medicare are capped at $35 per prescription. A recent study showed that 1.5 million people on Medicare would have saved an average of $500 in 2020 from the $35 insulin copay cap.

Ends Outrageous Price Increases For Seniors. Over the past 20 years, price increases for brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation. The Inflation Reduction Act penalizes drug companies for raising drug prices faster than the rate of inflation starting at the beginning of 2023. Since this provision went into effect, manufacturers of 98 drugs have been penalized, saving at least 770,000 seniors directly on their drug costs, and saving people with Medicare and taxpayers nearly $3 billion. An analysis by KFF showed that half of all drugs covered by Medicare had list price increases exceeding the rate of inflation in 2020. For example, AbbVie has hiked the price of its blockbuster drug Humira 27 times, including in January 2021 when it raised its cost by 7.4 percent. 

Free Shingles, RSV, and Other Recommended Vaccinations. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, 50.5 million seniors are eligible for no-cost shingles vaccinations. In 2020, nearly 4 million Medicare beneficiaries received the two-part shingles vaccination. With a single shot of Shingrix costing $212, seniors on Medicare Part D are saving over $400 on average on vaccinations in 2023. The high out-of-pocket cost of the shingles vaccine has been a key factor in low vaccination rates, especially among Black and Latino communities. This extends an important affordable preventive service to seniors on Medicare; Americans with private insurance could already typically receive shingles vaccinations at no cost.

These savings and benefits are under attack: 

Republicans want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and hike drug costs for seniors. Trump’s Project 2025 makes the GOP’s plans clear: repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, ban Medicare from negotiating drug prices, and line drug companies’ pockets. Every Republican in Congress voted against the Inflation Reduction Act and Republicans in Congress continue to call for its repeal. The GOP’s latest attacks are just another attempt to carry out Trump’s Project 2025, do the bidding of the big drug companies, and repeal the law. 

Big drug companies are charging Americans two to four times more than people in other countries. While Democrats are doing what needs to be done to ensure seniors can afford the care they need without sacrificing groceries, gas, or rent – Republicans are siding with big drug companies and playing partisan games with seniors’ access to medication.

ashoup
In News

STATEMENT: Kamala Harris Calls for Helping Families, Seniors, and the “Sandwich Generation” by Adding In-Home Care to Medicare

Harris’s Plan for Long-Term Home Care Services is a “Game Changer” for American Families and Seniors Who Want to Stay in Their Homes 

Washington D.C.— Today, Vice President Kamala Harris released a new proposal to add an in-home health care benefit to Medicare. During an appearance on the View, Harris announced her plan to allow Medicare to pay for in-home services, allowing seniors to access the services that help them age with dignity and giving caregivers more breathing room to go to work, care for their children, and pay for other essentials. Harris’s proposal would cover the cost of these services by expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug prices. 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump and JD Vance want to restrict health care access. During his time in office, Trump and Republicans in Congress tried to cut Medicare by hundreds of billions all to pay for their tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Project 2025 lays out a blueprint for slashing Medicare coverage for seniors, increasing prescription drug prices, increasing fraud throughout the system, and forcing seniors to pay more for their health care. If Trump and Vance get their way, millions of seniors will be left uninsured during the time of their lives when they need health care the most.

Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement: 

“Kamala Harris’s plan to add long-term home care services to Medicare would be a game changer for families and for seniors who want to stay in their homes. Vice President Harris is a health care champion and she is putting improving access to health care at the forefront of her campaign. Harris recognizes the challenges that middle-class families face every day: securing affordable child care, caring for aging parents, and keeping up with high health care costs. Adding a home care benefit to Medicare means giving financial relief to caregivers and seniors the independence and dignity they deserve as they age. Coupled with Harris’s proposals to expand lower drug prices, improve maternal health, and cancel medical debt, her health care agenda will lower costs and make a real difference for working families across the country.

“At a time when Donald Trump and his MAGA allies want to go backwards and gut Medicare, raise prescription drug costs, and rip away affordable coverage, the stakes for health care in this election could not be higher.”

ashoup
In News

Five Lies You’ll Hear From Former President Donald Trump During The Debate

When Donald Trump was president, he showed us who he is. His record is defined by one act of sabotage after another that ended in high drug costs, tax breaks for billionaires, and millions of Americans losing their health care coverage. Now, Trump is lying about his record as he hopes Americans believe his outrageous deceptions like how he “saved” protections for pre-existing conditions. In reality, Trump’s agenda has been all about ripping health care away and putting insurance and drug companies back in charge to hike costs on Americans. A second Trump term will have devastating consequences such as eliminating protections for pre-existing conditions, gutting funding for Medicaid, and putting the profits of big drug companies over patients. Here are the top five lies about health care that you will hear from former President Trump at Tuesday’s debate: 

  1. LIE: Trump Lowered Drug Prices. Trump has claimed that “Low INSULIN PRICING was gotten for millions of Americans by me, and the Trump Administration” or that he “lowered drug costs by “80 or 90 percent” and that insulin was “as cheap as water.”
    REALITY: The former president had four years to take action on drug prices, but instead, he did nothing, and now he’ll lie and say anything to cover up his failures. In reality, drug prices soared under Trump. During his first year in office, the list prices of 20 of the top 25 drugs covered by Medicare Part D increased between three and nine times the rate of inflation, according to KFF. AARP found that annual drug costs for the drugs most commonly used by seniors rose 5.8 percent in 2018, more than twice the rate of inflation. Likewise, drug prices increased an average of 21 percent in 2019 and grew faster than inflation in 2020. Further, Trump gave billions in tax breaks to drug and health insurance companies and executives, signing a $1.5 trillion tax bill disproportionately benefiting the wealthy and reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.
  2. LIE: Trump has a “phenomenal” health care plan. Trump has said that he’s going to be introducing a ​​“terrific,” “phenomenal” and “fantastic” new health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act – and it will be ready in “two weeks.”
    REALITY: The former president has been promising this “phenomenal” new health plan in “two weeks” for nearly eight years, but his record on ripping away Americans’ health care is clear. Census data revealed the uninsured rate rose during Trump’s tenure for the first time since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The rate increased from 7.9 percent in 2017 to 8.5 percent in 2018, or by approximately 2 million people. During his first term, Trump notoriously tried and failed multiple times to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). All of the repeal bills that went through Congress would have caused millions of Americans to lose their health coverage and raised premiums for millions more. Trump’s repeal efforts would have ended Medicaid as we know it, putting the health care of children, seniors, working families, and people with disabilities at risk. Since the end of his first term in office, Trump has repeatedly reignited his calls to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act, which he claims is a “disaster,” and his MAGA allies in Congress are seeking to dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act and its provisions making prescription drugs and health care premiums more affordable for tens of millions of Americans. Even if he doesn’t succeed at fully repealing the ACA, Trump will stop at nothing to gut it and other critical protections that the American people rely on. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that gutting the ACA would result in “higher costs for health coverage, loss of protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and an increase in the number of people without insurance.”
  3. LIE: Trump will protect Medicaid. For years Trump has lied and promised that he will “protect your Medicare and your Medicaid.”
    REALITY: During the Trump administration, more than one million children lost Medicaid coverage between 2017 and 2019. The “Project 2025” agenda released by Trump’s allies at the Heritage Foundation includes onerous paperwork requirements and block grants that would force radical cuts to Medicaid. As Georgetown University found, “The RSC budget would slash Medicaid, CHIP and the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace subsidies by $4.5 trillion over ten years and the House GOP budget resolution would cut Medicaid by $2.2. trillion over the next decade.” These tried and failed policies are designed to throw people off of their coverage. After Arkansas imposed the nation’s first so-called “work requirements” program, more than 18,000 residents lost Medicaid coverage. Although state efforts were blocked by a federal judge several times, the Trump administration fought relentlessly to impose work reporting requirements in Medicaid. Between encouraging states to impose red tape and paperwork requirements masquerading as work requirements, the Trump administration worked tirelessly to dismantle Medicaid. Now, red state governors are already preparing a renewed wave of draconian cuts and onerous requirements for Medicaid recipients.
  4. LIE: Trump will never cut a single penny from Medicare. Trump has vowed dozens of times never to cut Medicare and last year posted a video claiming that “Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security.”
    REALITY: Trump’s budgets included cuts to Medicare and Social Security every single year that he was in office and as recently as March of 2024 he proposed “entitlements” reform that could put the health and financial security of millions of American seniors at risk. For example, Trump’s proposed federal budget in 2019 alone would have cut funding for Medicare by more than $800 billion and repealed the ACA. MAGA Republicans have also pushed for raising the retirement age, which would cut benefits for millions of American seniors.
  5. LIE: Everyone is happy with overturning Roe v. Wade and the GOP is the “party of fertilization.” Trump will tie himself in knots on abortion rights and reproductive care, claiming that “all legal scholars, both sides” wanted Roe v. Wade overturned and now “we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint.” He’ll lie and say that abortion is “not that big of an issue” and even that the GOP is the “party of fertilization.” He has recently made bogus promises that the federal government will cover IVF.
    REALITY: Don’t believe Donald Trump’s lies on IVF and abortion. The GOP platform includes policies that would effectively ban IVF and abortion nationwide. He is responsible for the repeal of Roe v. Wade and the devastating consequences for reproductive health. Trump boasts that his appointees to the Supreme Court “broke Roe v. Wade” and the consequences for women’s health have been catastrophic, from cruel and archaic abortion bans to devastating uncertainty about access to IVF and other essential reproductive care. The MAGA agenda would see more extreme judicial appointments and an all-out push to use the Comstock Act to create a de facto national ban on abortions and sharply limit access to abortion medications like mifepristone.
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