Reed & Whitehouse Rally RI Health Leaders on Plan to Lower Costs, Improve Access to Care, & Reverse Trump-Republican Health Care Cuts

PROVIDENCE, RI - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today convened a group of health care professionals, service providers, and community advocates at Providence Community Health Centers' (PCHC) Prairie Avenue Health Center to discuss how they are working with colleagues in the Senate to help lower costs for accessing care and strengthen access to health care for all Americans.

Earlier this summer, Republicans rammed President Trump's so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" through Congress. The tax and budget law is estimated to kick 15 million people off their health insurance nationwide over the next decade. Rhode Island is slated to lose approximately $4 billion in federal Medicaid funding over that timeframe, according to projections from experts at the health policy organization, KFF.

The Trump-Republican attack on health insurance includes a failure to extend the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) enhanced tax credits which expire at the end of this year. According to the Providence Journal: "An additional 40,000 [Rhode Islanders] will see their insurance premiums balloon by an average of 85% when tax credits that expanded Obamacare coverage expire at the end of 2025, leading to more Rhode Islanders uninsured or underinsured."

In an effort to reverse the Republican health care cuts, permanently extend the ACA's enhanced tax credits, and ensure reliable access to quality care for Rhode Islanders, Senators Reed and Whitehouse joined the entire Senate Democratic caucus in introducing the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act (S.2556) on the 60^th anniversary of the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

"People without health insurance still get sick and need to see the doctor. President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' is really just a big betrayal of Americans who rely on Medicaid or the ACA's enhanced tax credits to afford access to health care. With millions across the nation slated to lose their coverage, unsustainable health care costs will continue to rise for everyone. We must take immediate action on the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act to lower costs, reverse President Trump and Republicans' health care cuts, and ensure that every American can access the care they need when they need it," said Senator Reed.

"Republicans' Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires bill made cruel and dangerous cuts to health care to give tax breaks to billionaires," said Whitehouse. "They are taking health care away from Rhode Islanders and harming our already-fragile health care system. I'll do everything in my power to reverse these cuts."

"The Protect Our Healthcare Coalition expresses our deep appreciation for the work that Senators Reed and Whitehouse are doing, along with the rest of the Rhode Island Delegation, to oppose federal cuts to Medicaid and individual marketplace coverage," said Shamus Durac, co-chair of the Protect Our Healthcare Coalition and Senior Attorney and Health Policy Analyst with RIPIN. "Our Coalition members work directly with the many Rhode Islanders who will lose Medicaid, or who will see their HealthSource RI premiums jump, because of the new federal law. More than 80,000 Rhode Islanders newly qualified for health insurance due to the Affordable Care Act and subsequent enhancements, but new restrictions on coverage for immigrants, byzantine Medicaid work requirements, more difficult applications and recertifications, and significant cuts to federal funding for the individual marketplace threaten to undo that progress. And while some of the cuts won't take effect until after the 2026 election, many Rhode Islanders will lose coverage sooner than that. Medicaid, Medicare, and individual market eligibility is being eliminated for many categories of lawful immigrants, and the expiration of Enhanced Premium Tax Credits means that HealthSource RI enrollees will see their coverage jump by 85% on average, with some enrollees seeing their out-of-pocket monthly premiums double or even triple. We call on Washington to reverse these cuts and support the Senators' efforts to protect Rhode Islanders' health insurance."

Senators Reed and Whitehouse were joined by members of Rhode Island's Protect Our Healthcare Coalition, Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC), and advocates with lived experience to raise awareness about the disastrous impacts that the Republican attack on health insurance will have on hospitals, health centers, seniors, nursing homes, and patients across the country. The group pushed for swift action to lower health care costs and increase access to care for all Americans.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Tweet