June 30, 2025

This is URGENT.

Late Saturday night, Senate Republicans narrowly passed a motion to proceed, allowing debate to begin on their version of the devastating reconciliation budget bill. While they cleared this first procedural hurdle, a number of Republican senators continue to voice concerns about the health sections of the bill that make deep cuts to Medicaid and other social programs.

A Vote in the Senate is Expected Soon, and Health Care and Food Assistance are on the Line
In less than 24 hours, the Senate is expected to vote on the Republican budget reconciliation bill—and it’s even more extreme than the House bill. (To take action, please see the “Take Action NOW” section of this message further below.)

Here’s what’s at stake: 
The Senate proposal would slash funding for Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and SNAP (food assistance)—all to pay for tax cuts that disproportionately benefit high-income earners. 

Instead of moderating the House bill, the Senate doubled down—calling for deeper cuts and even more damage to programs for older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, children, and working families. 
If passed, this legislation would: 

• Strip health coverage from at least 17 million Americans. 
• Cut millions of people off from critical food assistance.  
• Cause more preventable deaths, more rural hospital closures, and more dangerous nursing homes. 
• Raise health care costs for everyone by undermining system-wide affordability and stability. 

Programs that help people with Medicare are directly under attack: 

• Nearly 1.4 million low-income people with Medicare could lose their Medicare Savings Program (MSP), making it harder to afford premiums and care. They would see lower Social Security checks as a result—costing them thousands of dollars each year. 
• Millions would lose automatic help paying for prescriptions through the Part D Low Income Subsidy (Extra Help), assistance valued at $6,200 in 2025. 
• For those who lose their MSP, Part B premiums and other out-of-pocket costs could consume up to one-third of their income, forcing impossible choices between health care, food, and housing. 

The Senate could vote as soon as today, with the House quickly following. Republican lawmakers are aiming for final passage by July 4. We need your voice NOW to stop this.

READ ON TO TAKE ACTION!

June 3, 2025

Dear friend,

In today’s The News-Gazette, you can see the Guest Commentary that I wrote about the House Republican’s Budget bill and the cuts to Medicaid and other health and food programs.

You can read my commentary below, or you can find it on The News-Gazette’s website here.

Don’t believe political spin about not-so-beautiful bill

House Republicans narrowly passed their budget bill – the cartoonishly named “One Big Beautiful Bill” – that would slash funding for Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These cuts would force around 15 million Americans off their health coverage, and raise healthcare costs for millions more, all in order to permanently fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.

This budget bill was rushed through overnight, and while House Republicans admit this is one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in a generation, they voted for it without getting a full analysis of the proposal or holding a single hearing on the impacts of the biggest cut to Medicaid ever. Even without a full accounting yet, we know enough to know that the consequences will be devastating – from millions more uninsured, to increased premiums and co-pays, and more bureaucratic barriers to get and stay on coverage, to reduced benefits and scaled back services resulting from cuts to the hospitals, clinics and other providers on which we all rely.

The Senate has millions of reasons to reject this approach to a budget bill. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote in a New York Times op-ed that slashing health care for the working poor “is both morally wrong and politically suicidal.”  He stated “Republicans need to open their eyes: Our voters support social insurance programs,” Hawley wrote. “More than that, our voters depend on those programs.” 

No one campaigned on the biggest reduction of health coverage in history, nor on massive Medicaid cuts, nor on cuts to the ACA or Medicare, nor on higher health premiums and co-payments, nor on cuts to the SNAP food assistance program — but that’s what House Republicans voted for in this budget.

This isn’t a political game — this is literally life and death for low-income working families, people with disabilities, pregnant women and their babies, children, veterans, and people who rely on rural hospitals across the country — all of whom will pay the price of this disastrous bill for generations, while the billionaires reap the benefits.

READ ON!