Padilla Meets With Doctors, Sounds Alarm on Health Care Cuts From Trump’s So-Called One Big Beautiful Bill

SAN JOSE, CA - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) toured the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center with frontline physicians to highlight the real-world, devastating consequences of health care cuts from Republicans' billionaire-first reconciliation bill, which was signed into law last summer.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center - a county-run hospital that serves 2 million residents - is already feeling the strain. Health care spending accounts for roughly one-third of the county's total budget. Because of the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill," new federal cuts are deepening a projected $1 billion deficit, threatening patient care, hospital services, and access to critical treatment for working families.

As Republicans continue to slash funding, doctors are warning of longer wait times, reduced access to care, and fewer resources for working families, seniors, and vulnerable patients who rely on the county system to survive. Padilla's visit alongside Santa Clara County Medical Physicians and the Valley Physicians Group comes as communities across California feel the devastating consequences of Washington Republicans' decision to cut health care to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy - shifting the burden to local hospitals and the patients they serve.

"Republicans would rather spend trillions on tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, bankroll Trump's unauthorized war in Iran, and fuel ICE's cruelty than ensure Americans can access lifesaving health care," said Senator Padilla. "Thanks to Donald Trump and Republicans' not so beautiful bill, hospitals in the Bay Area and across the country are now facing massive budget shortfalls, driving up wait times, restricting access to critical treatment, and raising costs for hardworking families, seniors, and at-risk patients. I'll continue supporting physicians on the front lines working tirelessly to address Trump's manufactured health care crisis."

"Medically, I can prescribe medication for the reflux. I can prescribe laxatives for constipation. I can alert social work and direct patients to food banks to help with food access. But I cannot prescribe safety. And until our children feel safe - until the threat of sudden, traumatic separation is removed - their bodies will continue to bear the burden of that fear," said Rachel Ruiz, MD, Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Chair of VPG.

"Public healthcare is our safety net to help maintain quality care for all patients, allowing them to return to their lives and jobs at full capacity. Protecting it is important for all of us to help maintain a functioning society and economy. Critical services such as trauma and stroke are utilized by everyone, and increased wait times for patients at public systems will spill into each and every hospital, regardless of zip code. The effects of HR1 will be felt by everyone, even the wealthy," said Praveen Anchala, MD, Chair of Radiology, Vice Chair of VPG.

"Access to affordable, life-saving HIV antiretroviral therapy is paramount to ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Antiretroviral therapy helps keep patients living with HIV/AIDS healthy as well as the community. HR-1 directly threatens insurance coverage and enrollment, putting more pressure on federal programs such as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program to fill the gap which is already stretched thin. These events taken together will lead to increased morbidity and mortality for people living with HIV/AIDS, new infections and overall a decline in the health of our population," said Joseph Cooper III, MD, Infectious Disease Physician, Secretary of VPG.

"A 60-year-old breast cancer survivor, mid-reconstruction, rushed her surgery in December - not because she was ready, but because she was afraid. Afraid that after December 31st, she couldn't afford to be insured. She had a port in her chest and a tissue expander in her breast - devices that require surgery to remove - and she needed them out while she still had coverage. She has not been able to follow since. She should be on maintenance chemotherapy. We don't know if she is," said Jennifer Cheeseborough, MD.

"Santa Clara Valley Healthcare is one of the largest healthcare systems in Santa Clara County and Northern California. Our physicians, hospitals, and clinical systems have helped patients throughout the County, regardless of geography, income, insurance status or ability to pay. We have taken care of elderly patients on commercial Medicare plans admitted for acute illnesses such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure to name a few, because other healthcare systems did not have capacity, were too far away, or did not accept the patient's insurance. We have helped patients seeking substance use and behavioral health treatment not available in other partner healthcare systems, such as for adult and pediatric opioid use disorder, serving as the safety net for all residents with acute substance and mental health crises. H.R.1 will have devastating impacts on our public healthcare system, with even more detrimental effects on hundreds of thousands of people that rely on public coverage. Our healthcare systems collectively will see more high-cost emergency utilization for preventable illness, higher justice-involvement and incarceration for preventable substance use and mental health crises, and worse, it would exacerbate strain on already inundated systems - thus not being able to effectively ensure all our County residents have timely, equitable access to the highest standards of care that all people deserve. Imaging taking your mother to the nearest emergency room only to learn the wait-time is several hours until she can be seen. Imagine searching for months for a substance treatment program when you fear your child may overdose at any time. These impacts will be felt by every county resident, and most tragically, with disproportionate harm to our most underserved, vulnerable patients and communities. H.R.1 will make applying for and renewing healthcare coverage administratively more complicated and challenging that many will simply not be able to keep up despite eligibility. Furthermore, many community members are weighing risks to seek care because of active, ongoing ICE activity and surveillance. We hope that by working together we can ensure the viability of our public safety net hospital and clinical systems, and ultimately, ensure all people - our families, our neighbors, our communities - have access to healthcare," said Annie Chang, MD.

"My experience, over twenty plus years as a hospital pediatrician, is that families always want to do the right thing for their child. But now, they're not sure what the right thing is. Should they bring their sick child to the hospital to get medical treatment? Or should they stay home to avoid the risk of deportation? This is a heartbreaking choice I wish no family had to face," said Monica Stemmle, MD, Pediatric Hospitalist.

"I recently launched a food referral program at our clinic because hunger isn't a social problem - it's a medical one. H.R. 1 doesn't just cut a budget line; it cuts into the health of real children. I see it in my exam room every day: kids without enough food struggle in school, carry the weight of depression and anxiety, and fall further behind with every missed meal. Feeding children isn't a political position - it's a moral baseline," said Iliana Harrysson, MD, General Pediatrician.

"Trauma patients are uniquely vulnerable to catastrophic health expenditures because traumatic injuries are unpredictable, often require expensive and complex care, and disproportionately affect poor patients of racial and ethnic minorities. I wrote a paper in 2020 detailing catastrophic expenditures in California trauma patients before and after the Affordable Care Act. We found that of over 7,500 trauma patients, more than 20% experienced catastrophic health expenditures (out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures exceeding 40% of post-subsistence income), including 89% of uninsured patients. However, the implementation of the ACA was associated with a 74% lower risk of catastrophic spending by trauma patients, with greater decreases among Black and Hispanic patients. The HR1 bill, which will cause 10-17 million people to lose healthcare coverage, will significantly increase the number of patients experiencing catastrophic health expenditures - not just trauma patients, but also anyone suffering from an unexpected health emergency," said Tiffany Chao, MD, Trauma Surgeon.

Additional photos and b-roll footage from today's event are available here.

Padilla has consistently fought against Trump and Republicans' reckless cuts to health care to hand out tax cuts to billionaires. Last July, Padilla blasted Senate Republicans' passage of their tax bill that that is gutting critical health care and nutrition assistance programs while devastating families in California and across the country. Last June, Padilla joined the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to reverse course on Republicans' plan to take health care and food assistance away from millions of Americans - including seniors, children, people with disabilities, and veterans - to pay for tax breaks for ultra-wealthy Americans.

Padilla also consistently slammed President Trump and Senate Republicans for rejecting Democrats' bill to protect health care coverage for millions of Americans. In December, Padilla called on Republicans to pass Senate Democrats' proposal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years before they expired. After Senate Republicans voted against Democrats' plan to prevent millions of Americans' health care costs from skyrocketing, Padilla also hosted a virtual press conference to sound the alarm on the looming Republican health care crisis. In September, Padilla joined California health care leaders in Los Angeles to call on Congressional Republicans to work with Democrats to protect health care coverage for nearly 2 million California residents and avoid a Republican-caused government shutdown.

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