Rep. Venkat: “Donald Trump is far more interested in redecorating the Oval Office and lining the pockets of himself and his family, rather than trying to better the lives of Pennsylvanians and Americans.”
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Pennsylvania State Representatives Justin Fleming and Arvind Venkat, MD, Pennsylvania Health Care Advocate Jennifer K. Partyka MSN RN, and Protect Our Care Deputy Research Director Joe Miller joined Defend America Action to discuss Donald Trump’s affordability crisis and its consequences for Pennsylvanians. The speakers highlighted how everybody in the Commonwealth, from farmers to small business owners, is suffering under Trump’s destructive economic policies.
Earlier this week, Defend America Action released a new report on how Trump’s anemic economy is hitting the poorest Pennsylvanians the hardest, and his policies are sending food prices, energy prices, health care costs, and housing costs soaring. The report, which was covered by the Pennsylvania Independent, revealed how hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania residents are facing an average health care premium increase of nearly 22% for next year.
“Instead of keeping his campaign promise of bringing prices down, in Pennsylvania, we’ve seen Donald Trump’s administration contributing to prices going up. In my district, the demand at our food banks is higher than we saw during the height of the pandemic. This is what our communities look like under Trump – chaos and upheaval that the American people have to endure day after day with this administration,” said Representative Justin Fleming.
“President Trump lied to us. He said that his agenda would reduce the cost of living for Pennsylvanians and Americans, and he’s done the exact opposite by cutting Medicaid over a trillion dollars. Donald Trump is far more interested in redecorating the Oval Office and lining the pockets of himself and his family, rather than trying to better the lives of Pennsylvanians and Americans,” said Representative Arvind Venkat, MD.
“Republicans say that the only people who will be affected by their cuts to Medicaid will be those abusing the system, and this is a blatant lie. They are rigging the system to help their billionaire buddies with tax handouts. We can’t afford for anyone’s care to get worse,” said Jennifer K. Partyka MSN RN, Pennsylvanian Health Care Advocate.
“Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have launched an all-out assault on our health care system, from slashing Medicaid by a trillion dollars to driving rural hospitals off a cliff, to ending health care tax credits, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Donald Trump’s affordability crisis is already a nightmare for working families, and his war on health care will be catastrophic for Pennsylvanians,” said Joe Miller, Protect Our Care Deputy Research Director.
A recording of the press call is available here and a copy of Defend America Action’s report is available here.
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