John,

$4.6 trillion. That’s how much money extending the 2017 Trump tax scam would add to the deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.¹ How do Congressional Republicans plan on offsetting those costs? By making draconian cuts to Medicaid.²

Some members of Congress appear perfectly comfortable kicking low-income people off of their health insurance so that the ultra-wealthy and big corporations can enjoy massive tax cuts. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, making the tax cuts permanent would cost $288.5 billion in the first year, with 63% of it going to the top 20% of earners and only 1% to the poorest 5th of Americans.³

We must not continue or expand these unfair tax policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy while making low-income and vulnerable communities suffer. That’s not good for our society or economy. Instead, Congress should be working to strengthen our health systems so people can afford the care they need.

Send a message to Congress today urging them to fight back against cuts to Medicaid that will pay for tax policies that benefit the wealthy.

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action

¹ Extending Trump Tax Cuts Would Add $4.6 Trillion to the Deficit, CBO Finds
² Trump allies eye overhauling Medicaid, food stamps in tax legislation
³ Extending Temporary Provisions of the 2017 Trump Tax Law: National and State-by-State Estimates

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

Four in 10 U.S. households are struggling to pay their bills and the incoming administration is planning on make low-income households suffer even more.¹

Portions of the Trump tax scam expire in December 2025 and Republicans have long wanted to extend their tax scam or make it permanent. While they plan to give trillions of dollars in tax cuts to the rich and corporations, they also plan to cut funding for Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), and other social safety net programs that well over 70 million people rely on for support.²

We know this is the plan because Project 2025, the Republican Study Committee budget for FY2025, and many House and Senate Republican leaders are calling for severe cuts to Medicaid.

Recently, Texas U.S. Senator John Cornyn said:³

“We can’t just keep doing things the way we’ve been doing them… We ought to look at whether we’re doing [Medicaid] the right way. Block grants make a lot of sense.”

Block grants don’t make sense and actually deny people the coverage they need. Under the current funding system, the budget for essential programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and some other nutrition programs can adjust as need increases. A block grant is a fixed amount of funding given to states from the federal government. Once the money runs out, states would have to either slash health benefits or funding from other programs, or put people on long waiting lists to get care.⁴

No one should be without adequate health care in the richest country in the world, especially not in order to provide tax handouts to the wealthy.

Send a direct message to Congress today urging them to fight back against right-wing attacks on Medicaid.

Converting Medicaid into a block grant isn’t a new idea. The first Trump administration tried and failed in January of 2020, just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic changed our world.⁵ Other rigid forms of capping Medicaid have also been proposed, as well as taking away health coverage from people who can’t meet paperwork requirements, even though they’re eligible. Imagine if any of these restrictions were already in place during the pandemic: millions of people would have gone without the health care they desperately needed due to the fixed amount of the grants.

To deny people access to essential health care while extending or expanding tax cuts for the wealthy and major corporations is immoral and dangerous. Extending the 2017 Trump tax scam would add nearly $5 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, while severely cutting Medicaid funding could cost lives.

Congress must do everything in its power to stop this unscrupulous attack on Medicaid and other human needs programs and instead work to strengthen our health systems so people can afford the care they need.

Send a message to Congress now urging them to stand up to right-wing attacks on Medicaid.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ 39% of Americans worry they can’t pay the bills
² Trump allies eye overhauling Medicaid, food stamps in tax legislation
³ Cornyn, GOP eye Medicaid reform
⁴ The Problems with Block-Granting Entitlement Programs
⁵ Trump Administration’s Harmful Changes to Medicaid