The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress passed massive funding cuts to healthcare to pay for tax breaks for the ultra wealthy and big corporations!

 

Republicans are going too far, too fast to recklessly cut health care and social programs. They passed the biggest cut to Medicaid in history and will make ACA plans unaffordable for millions of Americans. This will terminate healthcare for at least 16 million Americans, including people fighting cancer, seniors in nursing homes, children, veterans, and people with disabilities. These cuts do nothing to crack down on corporate greed and price gouging that's making healthcare so expensive.​

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The planned cuts will:

• Terminate health coverage for millions of Americans, including an estimated 300,000 or more Coloradans.

• Gut Medicaid for seniors/older adults, children, people with disabilities, veterans, and would threaten the Medicaid expansion currently covering roughly 370,000 Coloradans

• Punish people fighting cancer and other serious chronic diseases, gig workers and freelancers, caregivers, people with disabilities, and people who get laid off—by terminating their healthcare— which will only make them sicker and less able to work. That's not common sense. 

• Increase base insurance rates in Colorado by 28% on average for 2026 - 38% on average in rural parts of the state.

• Cut financial assistance that helps working families afford health insurance under the ACA and disrupt the individual insurance market.

• Increase out-of-pocket premiums for Colorado families enrolled under the ACA by 100% or more! 34,000 Coloradans will lose tax credits altogether, leading to even higher increases in their premiums.

• Undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions. If people can't afford their coverage, they will be forced to make impossible decisions.

• Take away billions of dollars in funding for health care in Colorado when this bill already blows a $1 billion hole in our state budget.

• Disproportionately harm states like Colorado that have expanded our Medicaid program and have worked hard to get as many Coloradans covered in private insurance as possible.

• Coloradans should be able to get quality, affordable health care when they need it. Any cuts to healthcare take us backwards from that goal.

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We need health care solutions that actually improve health coverage and help Coloradans afford insurance, not cuts and attacks that make coverage unaffordable and leave millions in America without the health care they need.​​

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Medicaid talking points

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• Rural: Many healthcare providers -- especially rural hospitals -- will be forced to close as a result of these cuts. These cuts will be a disaster for Colorado’s rural communities and our economy, and rural Coloradans will lose access to the coverage and the care they need.

• Seniors: Medicaid helps seniors pay for nursing home care and long-term care services to live independently in their home that Medicare does not cover. With an aging population, this is crucial to Colorado’s overall health.

• Children and Families: Children who have Medicaid are more likely to attend school, graduate from high school and attend college than those who are uninsured. Families with Medicaid are less likely to end up with medical debt or have their financial security jeopardized by medical bills.

• Economic Stability: Congress wants to pass the buck and shift the costs to states and working families, all while giving a tax break to the ultra wealthy and big corporations. This is not a solution. The costs are still there, and Colorado can’t afford to pick up the tab, especially when our state budget already faces a big shortfall.

• State Flexibility: Medicaid is very flexible now for Colorado. The program allows our state to make decisions around eligibility, benefits, premiums, and cost-sharing, as well as provider payment. States who want more flexibility can already request a waiver adjust additional Medicaid parameters. Colorado is very efficient and innovative with Medicaid dollars.

  • Adding red tape and onerous requirements to Medicaid enrollment, pushes families backwards and will just lead to Coloradans losing the coverage they're eligible for.​

• Market Stability: Without Medicaid, the private insurance market and Medicare will not work. Medicaid is a critical part of our healthcare system as a whole.

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