Bipartisan Cost Coalition Statement: The “We’re all going to die” Medicaid cuts are a death sentence for rural hospitals

Cost Coalition Advisers Terry Holt, a Republican, and Andrew Bates, a Democrat released the following statement on Senate Republicans deepening the “Big Beautiful Bill” Act’s Medicaid cuts, which the American Hospital Association warns will close rural hospitals - hundreds of whom area already operating in the red:

“Hundreds of rural hospitals are on the brink of closing, and Donald Trump’s inflationary tax windfall for the rich will push them over the edge. Trump’s hollowing-out of Medicaid is an outright death sentence for rural hospitals, and a looming threat to 63 million rural Americans who need access to critical care, baby deliveries, and more. This 'beautiful' legislation would also hammer millions of additional Americans who would lose their coverage and feel skyrocketing premiums. Poll after poll shows that across the political spectrum, a huge majority of Americans reject Trump's plan. But instead of listening to their constituents, Senate Republicans are now deepening what were already the biggest Medicaid cuts in American history. Any Senator who votes 'yes' should brace for months and years of devastating headlines as shockwaves reverberate through an already fragile economy. And when the voters who’ve been sold out demand an explanation, ‘we’re all going to die’ won't cut it.”

Terry Holt is a former spokesperson for President George W. Bush and House Speaker John Boehner. 

Andrew Bates was Senior Deputy White House Press Secretary under President Joe Biden.