Washington D.C — The Republican Tax Law, which Republicans in Congress passed earlier this summer, is one of the most regressive (and unpopular) pieces of legislation in history – slashing vital programs like Medicaid to pay for billionaire tax breaks. Millions of Americans nationwide are at risk of losing their health care, but especially women in rural areas. Reports also show that women of color who heavily rely on Medicaid for maternal health care risk losing coverage.
According to KFF, rural hospitals across the country are set to close or reduce their services due to these drastic cuts. Maternal health care, which is one of the most expensive health services for hospitals to provide, is most at risk. One Kentucky woman, Jacalyn Stuff, shared her experience of accessing maternal care for her high-risk pregnancy after her local doctors were no longer able to treat her.
From the Washington Post:
“Jacalyn — then 19 — had to travel repeatedly to hospitals able to provide more advanced maternity care. Appointments at the one 70 miles away in Lexington required $30 for a tank of gas. Appointments at the one 100 miles away in Cincinnati required gas and a hotel stay. And they all required Jacalyn either to bring her infant son or to find a babysitter.
While Jacalyn’s pregnancy was extraordinarily high-risk, more women are expected to face disruptive travel even for routine pregnancies because of Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending plan. Approved in July, the measure cuts Medicaid by almost $1 trillion over the next decade, and the loss of revenue is expected to force scores of rural hospitals to curtail services or close, according to hospital groups.”
“Millions of Americans in rural areas already have to travel to access basic services like maternity care, but Republicans in Congress decided to make access even worse by endangering rural hospitals nationwide – all to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “Millions more Americans could face the same dilemma that Jacalyn had to face because Republicans in Congress decided to stand up for billionaires over the working-class families they are supposed to represent.”
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.