DEMOCRATIC VALUES
Sixty years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, enshrining the idea that health care is a right — not a privilege.
There are more than 18 million Americans over the age of 65. Most of them have
low incomes. Most of them are threatened by illness and medical expenses that
they cannot afford. And through this new law, …every citizen will be able, in his
productive years when he is earning to insure himself against the ravages of
illness in his old age. This insurance will help pay for care in hospitals, in skilled
nursing homes, or in the home. And under a separate plan it will help meet the
fees of the doctors.
President Lyndon B. Johnson speaking, accompanied
by President Harry S. Truman at signing the Medicare Bill
July 30, 1965, in Independence, Missouri.
But instead of honoring that promise, congressional Republicans rammed through Donald Trump’s just disastrous One Big “Beautiful” Bill Act, which includes the largest health care cuts in U.S. history.
Here are the impacts of Trump’s budget bill by the numbers:
$1 trillion cut from Medicaid, Medicare, and the ACA
An automatic $490 billion cut to Medicare still to come
15 million+ people nationwide projected to lose coverage
51,000 additional preventable deaths every year
Hundreds of hospitals at risk of closure
1.2 million jobs lost by 2029
These cuts will devastate families, strain health systems, and make it harder for millions of Americans to afford health care. And all just so billionaires could get yet another tax break.
We can’t let this stand. Sign on now to demand Congress reverse these cuts and reinvest in Medicaid and Medicare.
The 60th anniversary should’ve been a celebration of how far we’ve come. Instead, we’ve taken a step back, and this must be a call to action. Let’s show Congress the American people are watching.
Thanks for taking action
CHN Action, Washington, DC
CHN Action is an alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies which address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations. The Coalition’s members include civil rights, religious, labor and professional organizations, service providers and those concerned with the well being of children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities.