The fallout from Donald Trump and Republicans’ big, ugly bill is happening now, causing severe damage to health care as we know it. Donald Trump and Republicans slashed more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and are taking away tax credits that make health care more affordable for middle-class Americans. The bill strips health care from more than 15 million people, dramatically increases costs on middle- and low-income families, and sends shockwaves through middle- and working-class families trying to make ends meet – all so billionaires and big companies get another tax break.
Everyone will pay the price for the Trump-GOP health care emergency. Without coverage, millions will be left vulnerable to overwhelming medical bills if they get sick or injured. As costs go up and coverage becomes harder to access, more people will take on medical debt, more family budgets will be strained, and more Americans will lose access to lifesaving care. Emergency rooms will become packed with patients who are unable to cover the cost of their care without insurance, leading to higher bills and increased premiums for everyone. Health care costs will spike for everyone as rural hospitals close, driving up costs at nearby facilities. Even those who get insurance through their employers will be forced to pay hundreds more out-of-pocket each year.
With lawmakers headed home for August recess, Republicans continue to lie about the health care cuts as they explain their vote for this bill to their constituents. Protect Our Care’s Trump-GOP Health Care Emergency campaign is dedicated to holding Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress accountable this August. The campaign features the following theme weeks:
- August 3 – 9: The Trump-GOP Health Care Emergency: War on Your Health Care
- August 10 – 16: The Trump-GOP Health Care Emergency: Higher Costs for Families
- August 17 – 23: The Trump-GOP Health Care Emergency: Ripping Coverage Away from Millions
- August 24 – 30: The Trump-GOP Health Care Emergency: Hospitals in Crisis
By The Numbers:
- Rip health care away from over 15 million Americans, including seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities, leading to higher bills and increased premiums for everyone
- Raises premiums and out-of-pocket costs for millions covered through their employer straining the budgets of families already struggling with tariffs and inflation.
- Hike premiums for over 24 million Americans who buy insurance on their own, including rural Americans, small business owners, and middle-class families.
- Force low-income seniors on Medicare to pay thousands more each year for health care by raising their premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
- Impose a sick tax on over 20 million low-income people on Medicaid, hitting them with new bills each time they see a doctor for diabetes, arthritis, or other illnesses.
- Contains a $5 billion giveaway to drug companies at the expense of seniors and taxpayers by driving up the cost of prescription drugs for seniors on Medicare.
- Force over 5 million people into medical debt by causing families who lose their coverage to take on an average of $22,280 in medical debt when they previously had none.
Trump and the GOP Are Raising the Cost of Health Care For Everyone. Ripping away health care means the cost of uncompensated care in the health system will skyrocket, raising costs for everyone. Studies consistently show that even minimal cost increases lead to people forgoing doctor visits, delaying treatments, and stopping their medications — causing them to wait until their condition worsens before seeking help or, even worse, dying. Everyone will pay the price because Republicans put tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations above the needs of real people. Emergency rooms will become packed with patients who are unable to pay their bills due to loss of health coverage, forcing higher bills for everyone. Health care costs will spike for everyone as rural hospitals close, driving up costs at nearby facilities.
Here is how Trump and the GOP are raising health care costs for Americans who rely on:
Job-Based Health Insurance: Families with job-based health insurance will suffer higher higher prices at hospitals, higher premiums, and higher out-of-pocket costs. Trump’s new Marketplace sabotage rule allows insurance companies to offer plans with higher deductibles and higher out-of-pocket costs by adjusting the percentage of income that families are expected to pay for benchmark health coverage and the maximum out-of-pocket limit each year.
- A family with job-based health insurance could face up to $900 more in annual spending as their out-of-pocket maximums increase.
- Millions of families with job-based insurance could see their premiums rise by as much as $485 due to the costs of uncompensated care on health care facilities.
- When rural hospitals close, families may also be forced to pay an average of $500 more per hospital stay at the nearby facilities that remain open.
Medicare: Despite Trump’s countless promises to not cut Medicare, seniors with low incomes and those who rely on high-cost drugs such as lifesaving cancer treatments will be hit hardest of all.
- An older couple on Medicare with an annual income of $21,000 could see an additional $8,340 in health care costs each year due to the Big Ugly Bill. This jump in premiums and deductibles is more than double the increase in 2025.
- Seniors who rely on popular cancer drugs such as Keytruda and Opdivo will be forced to pay more for these lifesaving treatments thanks to Republicans granting Big Pharma a huge win that will allow them to bypass Medicare drug price negotiations.
ACA Marketplaces: Republicans are ending tax credits for working families, raising costs and ripping away health care from millions of Americans. Costs will skyrocket by an average of $700 for millions of families. Families will pay up to 90 percent more for their health care. Unable to absorb Republican cost hikes, 5 million people will lose their health care altogether. While middle-class families face higher prices or lose their coverage, Republicans are giving tax breaks to the ultrarich and big corporations.
- A family of four making $60,000 per year would see their premium increase by $2,700 each year.
- A family of four making $125,000 each year would see their premium increase by about $7,700 each year.
- A 60-year-old couple making $85,000 per year who stay on their same marketplace plan would see their annual premium costs skyrocket by $15,400, from about $6,900 to about $22,300.
- If that couple tried to save money by buying a lower-value plan, they would still have to pay more than $12,600 in additional premium expenses.
- Families who are unable to afford health insurance and lose their coverage could see their medical debt increase by as much as $22,800.
Medicaid: Republicans are bankrolling billions in tax breaks for the wealthy by demanding $5 billion in new copayments or sick taxes, from millions of hardworking families who make as little as $33,000 a year and already struggle to make ends meet. Because of the GOP tax scam, over 20 million low-income Americans will be forced to pay new fees every time they see a specialist for their diabetes, need dialysis for failing kidneys, or need to see an immunologist for arthritis.
- A family of four on Medicaid making $33,000 per year could be forced to pay up to of $1,650 in new annual out-of-pocket costs due to the Trump sick tax.
- In addition, the millions on Medicaid who lose health care due to onerous red tape designed to throw them off their coverage may incur as much as $22,800 in medical debt each year.