After Trump’s first 100 days, healthcare groups push against more cuts

In his first few months in office, President Trump has revamped federal health agencies, eliminated some health programs and fired thousands of agency workers.

President Trump has made sweeping changes in federal health programs in his first 100 days in office, and advocacy groups are pushing to proect funding for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

While today marks 100 days since Trump returned to the White House, some healthcare advocates say the real fight is still coming.

In the coming months, healthcare leaders are hoping to prevent cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. They are also continuing to fight for billions in federal money that the Trump administration pulled back from states and local governments.

Anne Shoup, senior advisor of Protect Our Care, says cuts to Medicaid “would leave millions of Americans without coverage, and raise healthcare costs across the board.”

Shoup and other healthcare organizations critical of the president’s policies came together in an online news conference Monday to spotlight the problems of Trump’s first 100 days and outline the upcoming clashes.

Trump has taken steps to reshape federal health programs. The Trump administration is weighing cutting the Department of Health & Human Services budget by a third.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the department’s secretary, has laid off 10,000 workers and another 10,000 have taken buyouts or retired. The National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Food & Drug Administration have all seen big changes and lost key personnel.

But eventually, Trump will need Congress to sign off on spending programs for health programs, including Medicaid, says Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA.

“It’s not something that the Trump administration can do unilaterally,” Wright says. “It is something that requires Congress to say, yes, we want to cut millions of people off of coverage. Yes, we want to cut the Medicaid program that funds rural hospitals, and is the major funder for clinics, and is the major funding for nursing homes, and is the major funding for maternity wards, and feel the actual impacts in the districts.”

Health groups say they’re going to be making the case to lawmakers, and they’re going to argue that cuts being considered would be a blow to red states and blue states alike. Medicaid offers critical funding to rural hospitals and safety net hospitals in cities. The NIH supports academic research in hospitals and universities around the country.

Amber Christ, managing director of health advocacy for Justice in Aging, says they make clear that if fewer people have coverage under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, then it means more people will be paying out of pocket and more hospitals will be losing money.

“Fundamentally, what's happening in Congress is that it's a tax bill,” Christ said. “It is a tax package that is being paid for with health care.”

Mannat Singh, executive director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, says 1.4 million state residents - about 22% of the population - get their healthcare through Medicaid. About 500,000 have been covered through Medicaid expansion.

“Proposals to cap or cut Medicaid funding would shift enormous cost to our state and result in fewer people covered, reduce access to care and devastating consequences for rural communities and communities of color,” Singh said.

“There are many hospitals, clinics, providers, especially in rural areas, who would be at extreme risk of closing,” Singh added.

Unlike his first term when Trump sought unsuccessfully to abolish the Affordable Care Act, he’s not making such statements in his second term. But enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act put in place by former President Biden are slated to expire at the end of 2025, and if they disappear, then fewer people would likely be covered. Advocacy groups worry about fewer navigators to help people get coverage and less time to enroll.

The leaders of the organizations said they are banking on the fact that cutting access to healthcare is an extremely unpopular proposition.

“They think that Medicaid is a great program,” Shoup said. “They don't want to see cuts to Medicaid. They don't want to see the tax credits being ripped away. People are on our side, and that is part of this education campaign.”

Hospitals have been urging the Trump administration and Congress to preserve funding for Medicaid. They warn that millions of Americans would lose coverage, and hospitals would face more financial pressures caring for people with no ability to pay.

“This impacts all of us, because if your local hospital closes, it doesn't matter if you have Medicaid or insurance with your job,” Wright says. “You will lose access to critical care.”

Older Americans are at risk if Medicaid sees cuts, even if those seniors have Medicare, Christ said.

“Many lawmakers mistakenly believe that cuts to Medicaid will not hurt older adults because they have Medicare. This could not be further from the truth,” she said.

Medicaid fills important gaps for seniors, including care for long-term needs, she added.

“The biggest gap in Medicare coverage is for long-term care,” Christ said. “Medicaid is the only program paying for assistance seniors need long-term with daily activities such as eating, dressing, bathing and getting out of bed, and household chores that allow older adults and people with disabilities to age in their homes and in their communities.”