Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demands Congressional Leaders Reverse Devastating Budget Cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act
The proposed cuts would push 5.4 million Americans into medical debt
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., today joined Senate colleagues to demand that Republican leadership reverse the cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act laid out in the House-passed reconciliation bill.
“Medical debt affects 100 million people in the U.S., amounting to $269 billion in unpaid medical bills. This is a problem that affects people of all backgrounds and classes. People living with chronic conditions or complex health needs experience accumulations in medical bills that increase their medical debt. Middle class families, who are less likely to forego necessary care due to cost concerns than lower-income families, have the highest rates of medical debt. Working-class people with lower incomes who face small or unexpected medical expenses can also feel the crippling effects of medical debt,” wrote the senators to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
The senators continued, “All of this has dire consequences: families live with the anxiety of being unable to pay off that debt; individuals delay or forego needed care; families cut back on basic necessities like food and other household items; and some take on additional debts.”
The letter was led by Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the letter was also signed by Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Recent analysis by Third Way, a centrist think tank, underscored that nearly 5.4 million American people – including 2.2 million people on Medicaid and 3.2 million people with coverage through the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces – will go into medical debt. In addition, the medical debt totals for American households will increase by $50 billion—a 15% jump.
To read the full text of the letter, click here.
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