Medicaid Cuts: The Battle for Healthcare

From Alaska to New York and everywhere in between, workers are clear: Americans need affordable healthcare, not more tax cuts for billionaires. As members of Congress return to their home districts, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members across the country are flooding town halls, rallying, and marching in the streets demanding legislators protect Medicaid. There are over 50 events planned nationwide from New York to Alaska and everywhere in between.

“Let’s be clear – Americans have flooded Congressional phone lines, rallied at town halls, and lifted their voices to make it clear that they do not support massive cuts to the healthcare and public services they depend on,” said SEIU International President April Verrett. “Congress must reject the disastrous path of ripping away healthcare for 80 million children, pregnant women, veterans, seniors and people with disabilities by gutting Medicaid. We will hold elected officials accountable for their votes and demand that they support working peoples’ priorities and the wages, healthcare, and security we all deserve.”

Congress’s plan to slash Medicaid to give trillions in tax cuts to billionaires will take healthcare from millions of seniors, veterans, working moms and dads, people with disabilities and nearly 40% of our nation’s children. Medicaid is also essential for funding healthcare jobs, nursing homes, and hospitals. And because Medicaid makes up a significant portion of state budgets, any cuts to Medicaid could lead to cuts in other essential services, like education and infrastructure.

HANDS OFF MEDICAID: Workers Take to the Streets

This week’s actions kicked off in Juneau, Alaska where SEIU members rallied at the State Capitol. As the Juneau Empire reported, “Betty Redd-Mendez, a Mat-Su caregiver, flew with Beebe to Washington, D.C., and she spoke on the Capitol steps on Wednesday. ‘This is our lifeline,’ she told the Juneau Empire after the protest. Her father has prostate cancer.

“‘For a lot of families this is not a joke,’ she said. ‘If they take it away I don’t think my dad’s going to be here. I added onto my home so he and my brother can stay with me, and it saves the state and the federal government a lot of money by me doing that instead of them being put in a home.’”

In Medford, Oregon, SEIU members rallied in Congressman Cliff Bent’s (R-Ore.) district – speaking out and making their voices heard. When asked about the rally by KOBI-TV, President of SEIU 503, Johnny Earl, said, “Medicaid helps in a multitude of ways. It helps those who are suffering from addiction get off drugs, it helps those who are in desperate need of some financial assistance because times have gotten tough. It’s a bridging gap.”

And in Manhattan, thousands staged a powerful demonstration, as AMNY reported: “According to officials, around 5,500 protestors marched down Broadway past City Hall to Bowling Green, bearing banners and signs. A few hundred protestors split from the march and took a left turn on Wall Street to stage a die-in in front of the New York Stock Exchange, where demonstrators held up tombstone-like signs with messages such as ‘DOGE Cuts Let Ebola Into USA,’ ‘Died From No Health Insurance,’ or ‘DOGE Cut Off My Medicaid,’ highlighting the worst-case scenarios if essential services were cut.”

SEIU Member: ‘I Voted for Trump, but Medicaid Should Not Be a Political Thing’

A certified nursing assistant and SEIU member who voted for Trump in 2024, is speaking out in a new ad from Save My Care ad that will run in key 10 Republican-held districts: AZ-01, CA-22, CA-40, NY-01, NY-02, NY-17, PA-07, PA-08, WA-04, and AZ-01.

“WATCH HERE”

“I look after seniors here at the nursing home,” said John, SEIU member. “Most of them pay for it through Medicaid. So if Congress goes through these big cuts to Medicaid, some of our residents will probably have to leave. Most of them will have nowhere else to go and look, I'm a Republican. I voted for Donald Trump, but Medicaid should not be a political thing. They need to know, cutting it would hurt all of us.”

The proposed Medicaid cuts align with the broader economic and political landscape in several ways, and their potential long-term implications for both the healthcare sector and the overall economy are significant. Firstly, the proposed cuts are part of a broader effort to reduce federal spending and extend tax cuts, as outlined in the House budget resolution. The resolution calls for the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion in spending over 10 years, with the bulk of these reductions likely coming from Medicaid. This is because, as Jennifer McGuigan Babcock noted, "if Congress winds up with a reconciliation package that needs to cut that much from Energy and Commerce jurisdiction, it will wind up cutting a lot of that from the Medicaid program, unfortunately." This aligns with the broader Republican agenda of reducing government spending and lowering taxes, which has been a key political priority for the party.

Secondly, the proposed cuts reflect a political divide over the role of government in healthcare. While some lawmakers, including those from districts with high Medicaid enrollment, want to protect the program, others continue to push for reductions in federal Medicaid funding. This divide is evident in the mixed signals sent by Republican proposals, with some lawmakers expressing concerns about the impact on their communities, while others continue to push for reductions in federal Medicaid funding.

The potential long-term implications of these cuts for the healthcare sector are severe. Hospitals and healthcare providers, particularly nonprofit and rural hospitals, rely heavily on Medicaid funding to stay open. Gabe Scott warned that losing this funding would be a major loss for many hospitals, putting them at risk of financial collapse. As of February, there were 748 hospitals at risk of closure—almost one in every state, according to a Becker’s study. This could lead to a dramatic drop in access to care in this country, as Dr. Bruce Siegel noted, "If I look at the magnitude of some of these cuts, the hospital’s gonna have to make some really tough decisions. You know, they’re not gonna be able to keep that trauma center open. They’re not gonna be able to keep that community hospital open. Maybe they have to cut back on clinics and programs."

The overall economy could also be impacted by these cuts. Medicaid provides health coverage for more than 70 million Americans, including children, veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities. Any changes to the program will have serious political and social consequences, as Babcock pointed out. The cuts could also lead to increased uncompensated care, as hospitals assume a larger share of unpaid bills. In the United States, approximately 6% of total hospital expenditures—tens of billions of dollars—go toward uncompensated care. This could further strain hospital finances and lead to a cycle of inefficiencies that compound financial pressure.

In summary, the proposed Medicaid cuts align with the broader economic and political landscape of reducing government spending and lowering taxes, but they also reflect a political divide over the role of government in healthcare. The potential long-term implications for the healthcare sector and the overall economy are severe, with hospitals at risk of financial collapse and increased uncompensated care straining hospital finances.