Marking the 59th anniversary of the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, Georgia Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa, and Mississippi Democratic Party Chair Cheikh Taylor released the following statement: 

“Despite broad and bipartisan support from voters across the country, MAGA Republicans across the South have blocked Medicaid expansion and denied low-income Americans critical health care coverage. Every single person deserves access to high-quality, affordable care, but it’s clear Republicans are all too willing to put the health of our most vulnerable, including seniors and children, in danger. No one should ever have to choose between putting food on the table and receiving lifesaving care and medication, but that’s exactly what the future could hold if Donald Trump, JD Vance, and MAGA Republicans across the country get their way. Medicaid is essential for millions of Americans, particularly in rural communities where this critical funding keeps hospitals running. No American should have to drive hours to reach their closest healthcare provider.

“Together, Trump and Vance are intent on enacting their dangerous Project 2025 agenda, which would “terminate” the Affordable Care Act altogether and put the health care of tens of millions of Americans – including those who rely on Medicaid expansion – at risk. Trump and Vance have shown who they are, and we should believe them. Lives are at stake, and voters must wholeheartedly reject them in November so that we can ensure affordable access to health care is a right for all and not a privilege for the elite few.” 

Medicaid expansion could benefit nearly 3 million Americans if Donald Trump and extreme MAGA Republicans would stop standing in the way of their constituents accessing health care.

KFF: “If all states adopted the Medicaid expansion, approximately 2.9 million uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid.” 

After failing during his first term, Donald Trump is threatening yet again to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cut protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.

Associated Press: “Trump says he will renew efforts to replace ‘Obamacare’ if he wins a second term”

CNN: “Obamacare would be even harder to kill now, but Trump promises to try anyway”

Axios: “Former President Trump revealed that he’s ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to the Affordable Care Act, calling the failure to repeal and replace Obamacare during his administration ‘a low point for the Republican Party.’”

As president, Trump gleefully attacked the Affordable Care Act and boasted about his and MAGA Republicans’ efforts to dismantle it.

The Washington Post: “‘Time will tell. Obamacare is in for some rough days. You understand that. It’s in for some rough, rough days,’ Trump said.”

Politico: “He additionally stressed the need to ‘starve the beast’ of Obamacare in order to garner more public support for the Republican-backed bill.”

The New York Times: “‘We want to brag about the plan,’ Mr. Trump said, after asking those assembled how he was doing in his debut as a politician. ‘Hey, I’m president!’”

Trump’s cruel crusade to attack Medicaid access mercilessly ripped away health care coverage from adults and children.

ProPublica: “The Trump Administration Cracked Down on Medicaid. Kids Lost Insurance.”

Los Angeles Times: “Rebuffed by the courts in its previous efforts to gut Medicaid, the Trump administration teed up a new, far-reaching attack on the program that could affect the health of millions of low-income Americans.”

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “President Trump has made clear that his goal remains to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including its expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults, and to impose rigid caps on the federal government’s Medicaid spending.”

CBS News: “Trump administration to withhold Medicaid funding from California over abortion insurance requirement”

Rural hospitals that families rely on for health care are suffering across the South due to Republicans blocking Medicaid expansion.

KFF: “Rural Hospitals Have Fared Worse Financially in States that Haven’t Expanded Medicaid Coverage”

National Library of Medicine: “Uncompensated Care is Highest for Rural Hospitals, Particularly in Non-Expansion States”

In These Times: “The report noted that small-town hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility have fared better financially than those in states that didn’t.”