As we enter the second full week of Medicaid Awareness Month, Protect Our Care is releasing new fact sheets that show how Trump and congressional Republicans’ war on health care is jeopardizing the lives of Americans of every stripe, especially women, moms, and people of color.

Republicans gutted $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. As a result, rural moms are being thrown into maternity care deserts and bracing for nightmare experiences like Teela’s from Oregon: after her local maternity ward shuttered, she was forced to give birth on the highway while racing to get to the nearest hospital. Caregivers, like Lisa from New Hampshire, are losing critical support that helps keep their families afloat — forcing them to make impossible decisions between keeping a roof over their heads, putting food on the table, or caring for their loved ones. People of color like DeRay from Maryland, who relied on Medicaid as a lifeline for affordable care for their babies, are having the rug pulled out from under them.

Already, Black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. American women face the worst access to health care among high-income nations, despite Americans paying far more for care than any other country. Yet, instead of fixing an unaffordable health care system that too often produces disparities, Trump and congressional Republicans decided to pour gasoline on the fire. Because they ransacked Medicaid, over 800 hospitals, birthing centers, maternity wards, and other critical providers are shuttering, cutting services, or at risk of both, while millions face dystopian futures in the days and years ahead.

Because Trump and Congressional Republicans Threw Women, Moms, and People of Color Under the Bus to Make the Rich Richer:

  • Millions of Women, Moms, and People of Color Will Be Kicked Off Coverage and Hit With Hiked Health Care Costs. Medicaid covers 40 percent of births, nearly a third of all people of color, and women make up the majority of adults covered by Medicaid. Thanks to Republicans cutting nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid in their big, ugly bill, 7.5 million Americans on Medicaid are losing health care, including seniors, moms, young women, and people with disabilities. Three million Americans have already been stripped of their Medicaid coverage since the bill’s passage. Over 20 million Americans on Medicaid will also be hit with a sick tax, meaning more bills each time they see specialists for diabetes and other conditions.
  • Moms and Their Babies Will Be Forced Into Maternity Care Deserts at a Time When 35% of Counties Already Lack Birthing Hospitals and Birth Centers. Since Republicans gutted Medicaid, over 30 labor and delivery units have been forced to shutter, and over 140 are at risk of closing their doors.
  • Medicaid Cuts Will Lead to Worse Health Outcomes for Women and People of Color. Studies show health coverage is a key force in reducing health disparities and ensuring good health outcomes. Medicaid expansion saved lives and drastically reduced racial/ethnic health coverage disparities. After Republicans passed the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, multiple states are being forced to consider repealing Medicaid expansion and rolling back over a decade of progress.
  • Medicaid Cuts Are Drowning Women and People of Color Who Face the Burden of Caregiving. Medicaid is the largest payer for long-term care and home-based care services in the United States. Now, states are being forced to cut Medicaid programs that cover these essential services or compensate people who stay at home to care for a child or parent with a disability full-time, which will disproportionately affect women and people of color.

Read More in Our Fact Sheet on Women, Moms, and People of Color.