Protect Our Care Releases New Report Detailing the Republican War on Health Care Threatening More Than 70 Million Americans Who Depend on Medicaid
Washington, DC – Today, Protect Our Care is releasing a new report detailing how Republicans are trying to gut Medicaid in order to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations. In recent weeks, Republican lawmakers have reignited their call for cuts to Medicaid, which would have a devastating impact on millions of families across the nation.
Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, providing health care to more than 70 million Americans. Cuts to the program would mean ripping away health care from millions of families who count on it, including kids, moms, seniors, people of color, rural Americans, workers whose employers don’t provide health insurance, and people with disabilities. The consequences of any cuts to Medicaid would touch nearly every household in America.
“Republicans are reigniting their war on health care by putting Medicaid on the chopping block in order to fund more tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Medicaid is an essential pillar of our health care system that covers more than 70 million Americans, but Republicans are hellbent on pushing through their extreme and out-of-touch agenda that would rip away health care from millions of families who count on it. We’ve seen these threats from Trump and his allies in Congress before, and we must do whatever it takes to stand up to these dangerous attacks on our health care system that would devastate millions of families across the country.”
Protect Our Care has launched a multi-million dollar “Hands Off Medicaid” campaign to sound the alarm on Republicans working to slash Medicaid funding to pay for another round of tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. The campaign will feature every possible tactic to block any effort to slash this vital health care program, including paid advertising, advocacy and earned media activities, and more.
By The Numbers
- Republican threats to Medicaid put health care at risk for 72 million (21 percent of) Americans including:
- 31.5 million children
- 9.1 million people with disabilities
- 8.3 million seniors
- Republicans will create a $50 billion hole in state Medicaid budgets to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.
- If Republicans decrease federal funding for people in the Medicaid expansion population, it would immediately rip health care away from 4 million Americans across twelve states and jeopardize health care for about 21 million people.
- Republicans threaten care for 18.5 million people on Medicaid by imposing lifetime caps.
- Republicans could deny coverage to 36 million Americans through burdensome bureaucratic reporting requirements.