PA Lt. Governor Davis: “Congressional Republicans like Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie here in Pennsylvania are desperately attempting to distract from the clear, cold fact that the Trump administration is making the biggest cut to Medicaid in the program’s history”
Today, Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis and former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, as well as local advocate Paula Bussard, participated in a press call hosted by Defend America Action to call out Donald Trump’s devastating cuts to health care and food assistance and discuss the impact those cuts are having on them and their communities.
The speakers highlighted how Trump and MAGA Republicans’ budget is already having tangible consequences for Pennsylvanians, particularly families who depend on Medicaid and children who receive free school lunches.
“Many working people who have health coverage through Medicaid or rely on SNAP to put food on the table are just trying to get by. They’re waiting tables or stocking shelves or making deliveries, while the rich and powerful look down on them for struggling. Now the rich and powerful in Washington, DC are cutting Medicaid and SNAP all to give their friends and themselves a massive tax break that, quite frankly, they don’t need,” said Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis. “Congressional Republicans like Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie here in Pennsylvania are desperately attempting to distract from the clear, cold fact that the Trump administration is making the biggest cut to Medicaid in the program’s history.”
“I am deeply concerned about the ramifications the Republican budget bill will have on everyday, hardworking Americans and on our health care system more broadly. This decision made by Republicans in Congress and President Trump cuts over a trillion dollars from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces alone,” said Former CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “These are the largest cuts to these programs in our nation’s history in order for Republicans to give tax cuts to billionaires and wealthy corporations, this law aims to undo 15 years of progress that was made possible by the Affordable Care Act, progress that was made because we know we are all better off as a nation when every American has access to life saving, affordable health care.”
“When I hear Republican leaders say, ‘calm down, don’t be worried,’ it gives me little comfort, because at $1 trillion in cuts, people who depend on Medicaid, like my son does, could lose eligibility,” said Paula Bussard, a retired full-time caregiver to her adult son. “It is already challenging enough when 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you’re taking care of medications, you’re dealing with all of the routine, daily life, bodily functions, and you have to worry about your child’s eligibility. You have to worry if you will have access to that hospital or that emergency room. That’s what families like ours are significantly worried about.”
BACKGROUND
THE GOP BUDGET SLASHES HEALTH CARE AND FOOD ASSISTANCE TO PAY FOR TAX BREAKS FOR BILLIONAIRES: Republicans rammed an unpopular, unaffordable tax break for the wealthiest people in the country through Congress, 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: A new nonpartisan CBO analysis confirms that Republicans’ plans 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 more than 15 million Americans off health care in order to pay for tax breaks for billionaires – even though just 9 percent of Pennsylvania voters support cuts to Medicaid. This will create a $46 billion hole over 10 years in the Pennsylvania state budget, threaten to close at least five critical rural hospitals across the state, and cause premium costs and out-of-pocket costs to rise for over 370,000 Pennsylvanians.
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- This bill works to remove as many Medicaid recipients as possible under the guise of “work requirements.” In reality, virtually all Medicaid recipients work.
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- Medicaid disproportionately serves children, older people, and people with disabilities, and in Pennsylvania, this includes:
- Nearly 1.4 million working adults
- 1.6 million women and girls
- Over 1 million children
- Around 270,000 older Pennsylvanians
- Over 1.2 million non-elderly Pennsylvanians of color
- Just under half of working-age Pennsylvanians with disabilities
- Nearly two-thirds of all nursing home residents in Pennsylvania
- Medicaid disproportionately serves children, older people, and people with disabilities, and in Pennsylvania, this includes:
- 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 800,000 Pennsylvania households.
- 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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