Durbin Meets With Lurie Children's Hospital CEO To Discuss Medicaid Cuts In Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill

Durbin Meets With Lurie Children's Hospital CEO To Discuss Medicaid Cuts In Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Lurie Children's Hospital CEO, Dr. Tom Shanley, to discuss Medicaid cuts in President Trump and congressional Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). They also discussed the Trump Administration's proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget proposal. In light of HHS Secretary Kennedy's dangerous vaccine misinformation crusade, they also discussed how best to ensure parents have access to reliable, scientific medical information so that they can best protect their children from preventable childhood illnesses and diseases.

"During today's meeting, Dr. Shanley and I discussed the devastating impacts Trump's budget bill will have on hospitals across Illinois, including Lurie Children's," said Durbin. "It doesn't matter if you live in a red or blue state-17 million American will lose their health coverage thanks to the terrible bill. It is cruel and unnecessary and today, I reiterated that I stand with our hospitals as this Administration continues to slash critical health funding. Helping our hospitals-particularly children's hospitals-shouldn't be a partisan issue."

The OBBBA slashes approximately $1 trillion in Medicaid funding and $300 billion in Affordable Care Act funding over the next decade. As a result of the legislation and congressional Republicans' failure to address expiring health care subsidies, up to 17 million Americans are projected to lose health insurance coverage, including approximately half a million people in Illinois, and hospitals that rely on Medicaid funding, especially those in rural areas, face risk of closure

Photos of the meeting are available here.

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