WATCH: Nebraska State Senator John Fredrickson and Health Care Access Program Director Sarah Maresh Discuss Trump Budget Bill Impact on Rural Health Care Following Nebraska Hospital Closure

Sarah Maresh: “Tens of thousands of Nebraskans are going to lose their health care coverage, and our state is going to lose billions in federal funding.”

Today, Nebraska State Senator John Fredrickson and Nebraska Appleseed Health Care Access Program Director Sarah Maresh participated in a press call hosted by Defend America Action discussing the devastating impact of the Trump-backed Republican budget on rural health care access, following the announced closure of Curtis Medical Center in Nebraska due to Medicaid funding cuts.

Speakers on the call highlighted how the Trump-backed Republican budget, which was signed into law last week, will force rural hospitals across the country to reduce services or shut down entirely, leaving vulnerable communities without access to emergency care and essential health services.

“Having access to care that’s in your community, that’s trusted, that you’ve accessed for, in the case of Curtis Medical Center, over 30 years, is essential. We know when we cut services like Medicaid, hospitals like those in rural parts of the state, like Curtis Medical Center, risk their ability to continue to provide care and keep their doors open. Medicaid is the backbone of keeping a lot of these organizations alive and running,” said Nebraska State Senator John Fredrickson. “The closure of a significant hospital and community health clinic in Curtis, Nebraska has real implications on people’s lives. We already know that folks living in rural parts of the state are, in many cases, health care deserts. This just exacerbates that problem. It makes it more difficult to access care.”

“We see this bill as a death by 1,000 cuts to Medicaid in our health care system because there are just dozens and dozens of provisions impacting and cutting care, which makes it difficult to estimate and understand the impact,” said Sarah Maresh, Health Care Access Program Director at Nebraska Appleseed. “But what we do know is clear is that tens of thousands of Nebraskans are going to lose their health care coverage, and our state is going to lose billions in federal funding. […] This is a severe threat to the sustainability of our health care system.”

BACKGROUND

THE GOP BUDGET SLASHES HEALTH CARE AND FOOD ASSISTANCE TO PAY FOR TAX BREAKS FOR BILLIONAIRES: Congressional Republicans passed an unpopular, unaffordable tax break for the wealthiest people in the country, and they’re paying for it by raising costs, taking away health care, and slashing school lunches for working families.

• COSTS GOING UP WHILE BILLIONAIRE TAXES GO DOWN: Democrats released a nonpartisan CBO analysis confirming Republicans’ plan will raise health care costs for working families and take away Medicaid from millions of people, all to pay for a massive tax break for the ultra-wealthy.
  

• THE GOP BUDGET WILL SLASH HEALTH CARE ACCESS: Trump and Republicans’ budget will kick nearly 17 million Americans off health care in order to pay for tax breaks for billionaires – even though just 9 percent of Nebraska voters support cuts to Medicaid. This will create at least a $3 billion hole over 10 years in the Nebraska state budget and cause premium costs and out-of-pocket costs to rise for over 109,000 Nebraskans.
  

• • This bill works to remove as many Medicaid recipients as possible under the guise of “work requirements.” In reality, virtually all Medicaid recipients work.

• • Medicaid disproportionately serves children, older people, and people with disabilities, and in Nebraska, this includes:
    
    
    • Over 132,00 working adults 
    • Nearly 200,000 women and girls
    • Nearly 170,000 children 
    • 27,680 older Nebraskans
    • Around 150,000 non-elderly Nebraskans of color
    • Nearly 40 percent of working-age Nebraskans with disabilities
    • 54 percent of all nursing home residents in Nebraskans

• FOOD ASSISTANCE SLASHED: Trump and Republicans’ budget cuts free and reduced-cost school meals, Meals on Wheels and the nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children. They’re putting food assistance at risk for nearly 300,000 Nebraska households across the state.
  

• • This bill amounts to the largest cuts to food assistance in history. Republicans’ bill will also enact new unnecessary burdens for older Americans and families with children applying for basic needs programs, while freezing future benefit increases that help households adjust to rising food costs.

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