SOS for Health Events Push Back Against Trump’s Health Care Cuts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Health and public health workers, students, patients, caregivers, and researchers will gather on Thursday to say “enough is enough” to the Trump administration’s deep cuts to health care and assaults on science-based policy.
Events that are open to reporters will take place in Philadelphia, Santa Barbara, Boise, Minneapolis, Boston, Denver, and Bethesda – with at least two dozen more private events and protests at college campuses scheduled during the day.
Our health system is under siege and crumbling. On October 1, lawfully permanent residents who have been in the U.S. less than five years will lose Medicaid benefits. This includes all refugees and asylees as well as victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. Then on January 1, most U.S. citizens on Medicaid will have new work requirements and will need to be recertified every six months.
At the same time, Trump has hollowed out federal health agencies and decimated medical research. Meanwhile, health insurance corporations are demanding 10-40% increases in individual premiums, expecting higher costs due to uncompensated care.
Notable speakers at Thursday’s events include Dr. Walter Tsou, former health commissioner of Philadelphia; Dr. David Oxman, critical care physician with the Committee to Defend Health Care Philadelphia; Jeremy Berg, former director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health; and Brittany Shannahan, Medicare-for-All campaign organizer with Public Citizen.