Former Federal Health and Disaster Officials, Louisiana Leaders Sound Alarm on Trump’s Threat to Rural Hospitals and Disaster Response
LOUISIANA – Sabotaging Our Safety released a new report exposing how Donald Trump is putting Louisiana’s rural communities at risk through a dangerous one-two punch: gutting disaster preparedness programs while simultaneously slashing health care funding, cutting coverage, and forcing hospitals to close their doors.
Today, Sabotaging Our Safety and Defend America Action held a press call with Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Davante Lewis, Louisiana Public Service Commissioner and Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member; and Jeremy Edwards, former Deputy Director of Public Affairs of FEMA.
Speakers outlined how Trump’s policies are creating a perfect storm of vulnerability in Louisiana – closing the rural hospitals that serve as lifelines for communities while dismantling the disaster preparedness programs those same communities depend on when the next storm hits.
“No one in Louisiana or in this country should have to forgo health coverage because it is too costly. No one should face financial strains on their small business due to skyrocketing premiums, and no one should have to drive hours more for care during or in the aftermath of a hurricane because their rural hospital shut down,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “People across this country deserve a health care system that is both affordable and accessible, rather than a health care system that forces them to choose between coverage or affording their groceries.”
“Louisianans know that Trump’s attacks on FEMA put both our hospitals and the electricity they depend on at risk. The majority of our rural hospitals rely on rural electric cooperatives. When disasters knock out power, FEMA reimburses nearly 90% of the restoration costs for these cooperatives. But with FEMA’s funding under threat, these utilities may not be able to restore power quickly, or at all,” said Davante Lewis, Louisiana Public Service Commissioner and Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member. “So we’re facing a double crisis: hospitals closing because of Trump’s health care cuts, and the hospitals that remain open struggling to provide services during disasters. This puts Louisianans in poor, rural, and disaster-prone areas at grave risk when they need help most.”
“Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson has zero emergency management experience. He has been MIA since the day he took the job. Mr. Richardson showed up to Texas nine days after 100 people lost their lives there, and FEMA personnel were unable to reach him for over 24 hours during the onset of the disaster because he was on vacation,” said Jeremy Edwards, former Press Secretary and Deputy Director of Public Affairs of FEMA. “Will he be available when disaster strikes in Louisiana? Unfortunately, past practice suggests the answer will be no. Louisiana is already deeply vulnerable to disasters, and this administration’s actions are only making things worse.”
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