Washington, D.C. — Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress made the largest cuts to health care in American history, and now the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed the bill will strip health care from more than 15 million people. It will raise costs for everyone, regardless of where they get their insurance, and send shockwaves through hard-working families just trying to make ends meet – all so billionaires and big companies can get another tax break. They slashed more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and took away tax credits that make health care more affordable for middle-class Americans. The consequences of this bill will be felt for years to come, and with hospital cuts and closures and premiums set to double on millions of middle-class families in the next few months, we are already seeing the consequences play out across the country.
“The analysis released by the nonpartisan CBO further confirmed that Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ Big, Ugly Bill makes the rich even richer by taking health care from 15 million Americans and raising costs on millions more,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Instead of fulfilling any of their promises to lower costs or protect working families, Trump and the Republicans are doing the opposite. This bill will rip coverage away from millions, force hospitals to cut services or shut down, make health care more expensive and inaccessible for middle-class and low-income Americans, and take lifesaving care from seniors, people with disabilities, children, and working people who need it. At a time when too many hardworking families struggle just to make ends meet, Republicans are giving tax breaks to the wealthiest people and corporations at the expense of middle-class Americans and the most vulnerable.”
BY THE NUMBERS
The GOP tax scam will:
- Rip health care away from over 15 million Americans, including seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities, to pay for tax breaks for billionaires like Elon Musk and large corporations.
- Cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the ACA to pay for handouts to the wealthiest Americans.
- Hike premiums for over 24 million Americans, including rural Americans, small business owners, and middle-class families.
- Raises premiums and out-of-pocket costs for millions covered through their employer straining the budgets of families already struggling with tariffs and inflation.
- Generate billions in tax breaks for the rich by choking seniors and working families in red tape and making it harder to enroll in Medicare, Medicaid, and ACA coverage.
- Force low-income seniors to pay thousands more each year for health care by raising their premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
- Impose a sick tax on over 20 million low-income people, hitting them with new bills each time they see a doctor for diabetes, arthritis, or other illnesses.
- Threaten to shutter over 330 hospitals, 570 nursing homes, and hundreds of clinics across the country, forcing more Americans to travel further for maternity care and emergency rooms, and face longer wait times and higher costs.
- Force over 5 million people into medical debt by causing families who lose their coverage to take on an average of $22,280 in medical debt when they previously had none.
- Contains a $5 billion giveaway to drug companies at the expense of seniors and taxpayers by driving up the cost of prescription drugs for seniors on Medicare.
- Trigger nearly $500 billion in cuts to Medicare by exacerbating the national deficit.
The Policies Underlying The Biggest Loss of Health Care in American History: The following policies underlie the biggest loss of health care in American history and will rip coverage from over 15 million Americans, drive premiums through the roof, increase costs for everyday families, raise drug prices for seniors, and make it harder for families to get covered and stay covered.
Executes The Largest Cuts To Medicaid In History. Republicans are taking away Medicaid so they can give away tax breaks to billionaires, regardless of what they call it. Whether they do it through devastating cuts to federal funding or the addition of burdensome bureaucratic reporting measures known as work requirements, they will have the same result: taking away Medicaid from people who are counting on it. According to CBO, the GOP’s Big, Ugly Bill will rip away coverage from 7.5 million people on Medicaid.
Threatens To Shutter Hundreds of Hospitals, Nursing Homes, and Clinics by cutting hundreds of billions in critical funding for hospitals and nursing homes and burying them under the burden of uncompensated care by driving uninsured rates up, forcing hundreds to cut services or close their doors. Over 330 hospitals, 570 nursing homes, and countless clinics across the country are at risk of closing due to the GOP tax scam. Expectant mothers will be forced to travel further to get to the nearest maternity ward. Patients will have to travel hundreds of miles to get to an emergency room. Hospitals from California to Maine are already being forced to cut services and shutter facilities altogether. The closure of rural hospitals will cause prices to spike at nearby remaining hospitals forcing families to pay an average of $500 more per hospital stay.
Hikes Premiums For Over 24 Million Americans. Republicans are ending tax credits for working families, raising costs and ripping away health care from millions of Americans. By taking away these tax credits, Republicans are taking away health care. Costs will skyrocket by an average of $700 for millions of families. Families will pay up to 90 percent more for their health care. Unable to absorb Republican cost hikes, 5 million people will lose their health care altogether. While middle-class families face higher prices or lose their coverage, Republicans are giving tax breaks to the ultrarich and big corporations.
Imposes Wasteful Paperwork Requirements Designed To Throw Millions of Eligible Americans Off Their Health Care To Pay For Tax Breaks For The Wealthy And Corporations. Work requirements are nothing more than purposely burdensome paperwork designed to kick over 5 million people off the rolls to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations. Taking away Medicaid doesn’t help people find jobs. In fact, Medicaid helps people stay employed, and making unemployed people sicker makes it more difficult for them to find work, especially in this tough economy. Work reporting requirements have been a colossal waste of money in every state that has implemented them and have been shown to increase paperwork, but not job growth, while causing thousands to lose their coverage.
Increases Health Care Costs For Families Struggling To Get By. Republicans are bankrolling billions in tax breaks for the wealthy by increasing costs for low-income seniors and families. The Big, Ugly Bill demands $5 billion in new copayments or ‘sick taxes’ from millions of hardworking families who make as little as $33,000 a year and already struggle to make ends meet. Because of the GOP tax scam, over 20 million low-income Americans will be forced to pay new fees every time they see a specialist for their diabetes, need dialysis for failing kidneys, or need to see an immunologist for arthritis. The Trump sick tax sacrifices the health care of families who are working hard in jobs such as construction, maintenance, and retail to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. Because of Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, these families could face up to nearly $1700 in out-of-pocket expenses each year. The GOP’s Big Ugly bill will also make it harder for over 1 million low-income seniors to afford their Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs. An older couple on Medicare with an annual income of $21,000 could see an additional $8,340 in health care costs each year due to the Big Ugly Bill. For families living paycheck to paycheck, this means forgoing necessary care, ending up in the emergency room in serious condition, and drowning in medical bills.
Drives Up Prescription Drug Costs And Pads Big Pharma Profits. Republicans are slipping a huge giveaway to Big Pharma into a reconciliation package already loaded with tax breaks for CEOs and greedy corporations like drug companies, meaning Big Pharma’s multimillion-dollar investments at Mar-a-Lago are paying off big time. Their scheme to exempt drugs that treat rare diseases from negotiation creates a major loophole for drug companies to continue padding their profits by exploiting and price-gouging the seniors who rely on these drugs. In granting this multibillion dollar giveaway to drug companies, Republicans will raise out-of-pocket costs for critical drugs that treat conditions such as cancer and hypertension. Countless seniors fighting cancer and other diseases who rely on drugs such as Keytruda and Opdivo will be robbed of financial relief and will suffer the consequences of the Big, Ugly Bill while corporations like Big Pharma get more tax breaks. Republicans designed these policies to carve out top-selling products from drug price negotiation, ensuring drug companies’ exorbitant profits remain untouched while seniors continue to be forced to choose between putting food on the table and affording the health care they need to survive.
Makes It Harder For Families To Get Covered And Stay Covered. In June, President Trump finalized policies that will make it harder for families to get covered and stay covered. As a result, up to 2 million Americans will lose their coverage. His ACA Sabotage rule makes it harder for Americans to enroll in $0 premium plans, prove their eligibility for tax credits, and get the health care they need while waiting for the government to process their documentation. The rule also cut open enrollment periods by nearly half, giving families very little time to explore their options and get coverage, and included actuarial changes that will increase consumers’ health care costs from premiums to out-of-pocket costs. Earlier this year, the Trump administration also cut funding for the navigators who help families navigate the ACA marketplace by 90 percent, leaving countless families without the support they need to pick the most affordable and high-quality plan. In addition, millions of families with job-based insurance will also be impacted by Trump’s Marketplace rule and be forced to pay up to $900 more in out-of-pocket costs each year due to its changes.
