Washington, D.C. – President Donald Trump is set to hold a “Maternal Healthcare Event” to gaslight the nation’s moms on his and Republicans’ war on health care. Since taking office, Republicans have bulldozed the American health care system, gutting more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.
Now, what has ensued is a health care crisis that is endangering lives and making care unaffordable for millions of moms and their children — causing health care costs to soar, maternity wards and birthing clinics to shutter, and mothers to face impossible decisions between paying for their medications or putting food on the table for themselves and their babies. One-in-three moms in America are not confident in their ability to access health care, but Republicans have instead continued to prioritize billions for the president’s gold-plated ballroom, his wars of choice, ICE, and even more billionaire tax breaks.
In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:
“When Trump and congressional Republicans chose to cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations, they knowingly plunged moms and their babies into a health care crisis. Now, moms all across the country are working multiple jobs or working more hours, skipping doctors’ appointments, and sacrificing the care that lets them lead healthy lives just to make ends meet, all while witnessing their local hospitals and maternity clinics disappear out of thin air. Trump and Republicans knew this would be the result of gutting Medicaid, but they did it anyway, all to make the rich richer. Trump’s attempt to curry favor with moms after kicking them to the curb is pitiful, and at the ballot box in November, moms won’t forget this health care betrayal.”
Background:
Because Trump and Congressional Republicans Threw Women and Moms 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, 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. Nearly 2.5 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. After Republicans gutted Medicaid, over 30 labor and delivery units have been forced to shutter, and over 140 are at risk of closing their doors.
Read More in Our Mother’s Day Factsheet.
