BREAKING: Republicans Force Through Biggest Cuts to Medicaid in History
Dear Partner,
Earlier this afternoon, the House of Representatives passed their big budget bill and President Trump is expected to sign it into law tomorrow. If you're receiving this email, you've been closely following the progress of this bill and many of you have worked long hours making sure policymakers, the press, your partners, and the public know the devastating impact it will have in our communities. The harm to our health coverage, costs, and care is hard to overstate. A non-exhaustive list includes: 17 million Americans will be pushed and priced out of coverage in Medicaid and the marketplaces; millions more who surmount the new bureaucratic barriers will face increased cost-sharing and/or a spike in premiums; and scaled-back services and closures of already vulnerable community institutions, from rural hospitals to maternity wards to Planned Parenthood clinics to nursing homes. The devastating harm will be felt in our health system and through many other ways by families across the country, who will go hungry or get harassed by federal immigration enforcement.
You can read my statement on behalf of Families USA here. And our detailed and updated summary and section-by-section analyses of the bill are available on our website to support your efforts.
While we digest the news, I personally want to thank you for all your work over the past months to try to stop this bill from being enacted. You organized actions in your communities against these cuts, informed your local press, published analyses and state- and district-level impacts, and participated in phone banks and canvasses, among so much more. We were proud to join you for coalition calls, media briefings, all-night committee hearings, and even fasting and direct actions. While we knew after the election that the trifecta would always have the power to cut coverage and care, we made it as hard for them as possible. Congressional leaders jammed this bill through, often overnight under the cover of darkness, because they knew how unpopular it is. Our efforts were important and necessary, and not for naught. Because of our work together, we prevented even worse policies and provisions from being included in the bill. And with each passing day, assisted by our activities, more Americans are aware of this bill and its disastrous impacts.
This upcoming Wednesday, July 9, we will host a call with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Community Catalyst, and NHeLP for our state partners to debrief from the actions this week and answer questions you may have. We will share registration information early next week. And we will create more spaces in the weeks ahead for our partners across the country and in DC to discuss the next phase of the work.
Eight years ago, a previous attempt to undo the Affordable Care Act caused a major political pushback from Americans, which in turn led to the political and policy conditions that fostered the highest level of health coverage in history. Now that a bill that cuts coverage for millions has actually passed, we have the responsibility to organize all those impacted to fight for a better future. Our work with you now expands, to face the fallout in 50 states, to both mitigate and document the harm, and look for opportunities to engage people on the pocketbook issue of affordability and access to health care. We will work to undo the damage, not just to go back to a flawed former system but to rebuild toward a broader vision of a better, more affordable and equitable health system for all. Make no mistake, this is a generational setback to the cause of universal health care, but it is also part of a decades-long war to establish, once and for all, that we Americans care for one another, literally and figuratively.
After the long hours and hard work, I hope you take the time this Independence Day weekend to rest and recharge, and to celebrate the country that we are fighting for. We at Families USA will regroup with you in the next weeks and months to be the best partner in those ongoing fights—at the federal and state level, against executive and administrative actions, and in developing the agenda for what's next. Even after a devastating loss, remember to take the time to take care of yourself—we need you, and your partnership and leadership for the long haul.
Peace,
Anthony Wright
Executive Director
