05.19.2025 / Statement

Families USA Statement on GOP Budget Bill That Will Devastate American Health Care System

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA, today released the following statement after House Republicans passed their budget bill out of the Budget Committee and are now preparing to amend it in Rules Committee to make more Americans fall off coverage more quickly, and to move it to the full House floor for a vote as soon as this week.

“House Republicans are taking a bad budget bill and making it even worse, to force more Americans off coverage more quickly, and otherwise make steeper cuts to what was already the biggest cuts to Medicaid in history. This bill harms the health system we all rely on and is especially devastating for the millions of Americans who will see their health care coverage ripped away, and the millions in both public and private coverage who will see their out-of-pocket costs go up, just to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Instead of listening to the millions of Americans clogging their phone lines and showing up at townhalls, or even those in their own party warning against severe cuts to Medicaid, House Republicans are making bigger cuts and terminating people’s health care coverage even faster.

“President Trump never campaigned on massive Medicaid cuts, and he and many Congressmembers have repeatedly promised not to touch the program but are now rushing to make the biggest cut to Medicaid in history. Many House Republicans who signed letters in support of Medicaid, and declared they wouldn’t touch Medicaid, have now gone quiet as their ‘walk-the-plank’ moment approaches. This bill doesn’t just cut Medicaid, it guts Medicaid, and it will cause millions of eligible people in House districts across the country to lose access to the Medicaid benefits they need. When will we hear from those members? We join the chorus of everyday Americans who are calling on Congress to oppose these cuts that will rip health care from millions of Americans and raise costs for millions more. We must defeat this effort and get back to the actual affordability agenda that people wanted when voting last year.

“If this bill was actually about waste and fraud, it would look dramatically different, but this is just slashing away at coverage and care for Americans. Republicans and Democrats could have meaningful conversations about the kind of policies that could truly bring health care costs down for everyone — things like reforms to rein in corporate abuses in Medicare Advantage, pharmaceutical corporation gaming of patent laws, and large hospital systems and their abusive pricing practices. If this bill was about protecting the Medicaid program for priority populations, they would at least reinvest the money saved from kicking people off coverage into improving it for others, but it’s a cut to the system we all rely on, to fund further tax cuts mostly for the richest among us.

“Rushing forward with these draconian cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will impact all of us, regardless of how we get health coverage, whether through Medicaid or the marketplaces for individual coverage, or even just as citizens who rely on our local hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other health providers. More uninsured individuals and cuts to state funding means these providers will have to scale back services to all, and threatening the ability of many, from maternity wards to rural hospitals, to keep their doors open. Even the targeted attacks on specific communities, whether against blue states or immigrants, or gender affirming care or family planning health care providers, will end up harming the health care of many more.”