On Wednesday morning, health care advocates from across the country, including California, Nebraska, and Iowa, joined a virtual press call to speak out against a new budget bill passed by the Senate. They warned the bill could take away health care from more than 16 million people.
Advocates said the cuts in the bill would make it harder for many people to get the care they need, including doctor visits, prescription drugs, and other essential health services.
The event was hosted by Families USA and featured speakers from the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), Nebraska Appleseed, and Iowa Citizen Action to pressure House members to reject the bill when it comes up for a vote this week.
“Yesterday, the Senate passed a bill that, frankly, Americans should be horrified by. This bill would leave millions of Americans uninsured, raise health care costs, and dismantle the health care system we all depend on,” said Anthony Wright, Executive Director of Families USA. “This bill will make premiums spike, cause millions to lose coverage, and put critical healthcare facilities like rural hospitals and maternity wards at risk.”
According to Families USA, the bill will cut over $900 billion from Medicaid and over a trillion dollars from the healthcare system as a whole, affecting millions of low-income Americans, seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans.
Wright pointed out that the bill’s cuts would impact rural hospitals, nursing homes, and emergency services, which rely heavily on Medicaid funding.
The Senate passed their version of the bill earlier this week, Wright said, now it’s up to the House to stop it.
Kiran Savage-Sangwan, Executive Director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, said Medi-Cal provides health coverage to approximately one in three Californians, including a significant portion of seniors, people with disabilities, and children.
She explained that the cuts would lead to higher emergency visits, more people becoming sick or dying from preventable causes, and an increase in medical debt.
“This is not what the voters want,” Savage-Sangwan said. “83% of the public supports Medicaid, and 72% are concerned that the bill will lead to more people losing their health care.”
Savage-Sangwan also mentioned that the bill would put at least 3.4 million Californians at risk of losing their health care, including millions of children.
“In Congressman [David Valadao] district, nearly 90% of children rely on Medicaid. This bill would affect nearly every family in the region, especially in rural areas where health care resources are already limited,” she said.
One of the biggest concerns about the bill is the new “work reporting requirements.” This would force adults who aren’t working, such as those caring for family members, dealing with illness, or temporarily unemployed, to prove they’re working in order to keep their Medicaid coverage.
Advocates said this would create unnecessary barriers, pushing millions off the program and leaving them without healthcare access.
For example, in California, Savage-Sangwan shared the case of a 26-year-old woman who isn’t employed because she’s staying home to care for her elderly parents. Under the new requirements, she would risk losing her Medicaid coverage, despite her caregiving duties.
Savage-Sangwan pointed out that people like this woman, and millions more across the country, would be forced to navigate complicated paperwork and prove they are working, even though their caregiving roles are just as important as a traditional job.
“This is not just about paperwork; it’s about real lives,” said Savage-Sangwan. “Losing coverage can lead to preventable deaths. For those already struggling, these changes will make it harder for them to stay healthy and access the care they need.”
The bill would also hurt women, particularly those in the “sandwich generation” who are caring for both children and aging parents, according to Savage-Sangwan. She said women often work part-time or are not employed at all, meaning they, too, could face losing their Medicaid coverage due to the new reporting rules.
The impact on children is another major concern. In California, nearly one in four children relies on Medicaid for healthcare, and if their parents lose coverage, they will too. This could lead to more emergency room visits, worsened health outcomes, and increased medical debt for families already struggling. Advocates estimate that 3,500 Californians could die each year due to these cuts, with nearly 200 deaths projected in Rep. Valadao’s district alone.
The conversation also shifted to other states, like Iowa and Nebraska, where advocates shared similar concerns about the impacts of these cuts, particularly on rural healthcare. Hospitals and healthcare providers in these states are already struggling, and these cuts will make it worse. In Iowa, for example, over 80 critical access hospitals are at risk, and more than 40 labor and delivery units have already closed since 2000.
