June 2, 2025
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) — Earlier today, the White House released a statement defending their Big Bad Budget Bill, riddled with a series of cherry-picked ‘facts’ that deny the reality that hundreds of hospitals will close and tens of millions of Americans will lose health insurance if the Republican budget passes.
In response, 314 Action President Shaughnessy Naughton released the following statement:
“This statement from the White House is the equivalent of chasing Joni Ernst through a cemetery. It’s a dead end,” said President Shaughnessy Naughton. “The majority of Americans oppose cuts to Medicaid because the reality is, people will die if this budget passes. You don’t have to be a doctor to recognize the deadly consequences of taking health care away from people who need it to survive.“
Here are the facts:
FACT: At least 742 rural hospitals are at risk of closing if Medicaid is cut.
What will happen to people in rural communities who have a heart attack or stroke and their nearest hospital is gone? They will die.
FACT: 60% of seniors in nursing homes rely on Medicaid.
Where will they live to access life-saving treatment and support? There is no plan B for seniors who rely on Medicaid to pay for long-term care. They will die.
FACT: 12 million low-income Americans with disabilities rely on Medicaid to be able to afford life-saving medication.
How will they pay for medication that keeps them alive? They won’t. People who lose Medicaid are less likely to fill prescriptions and between 4% and 22% more likely to die.
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