Dear Members of the United States Congress,

As physicians across the United States who are dedicated to the health and well-being of our patients, neighbors, and fellow Americans, we are deeply alarmed by ongoing efforts to cut Medicaid. These proposed cuts — in the hundreds of billions of dollars — would mean taking health care away from millions of Americans, all in order to pay for more tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. We urge you to listen to your constituents, consider the devastation that slashing Medicaid would mean for your communities, and stop these cuts immediately.

Cuts of this size will take health care away from the people who need it most — children, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and low-income families. That’s the reality. So when you claim they can be made simply by eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse,” or through so-called work requirements, we know better — and we’re calling your bluff.

These people are our patients. We see their struggles firsthand. We see how vital Medicaid access is to managing chronic conditions, covering long-term care, and ensuring children can get checkups, medications, and mental health services.

Whether by simply slashing funding, or by imposing block grants, per capita caps, work requirements, or other arduous rules that make it harder for eligible patients to maintain coverage, your efforts will have the same result: fewer Americans with access to the care they need all so that billionaires and big corporations receive a tax cut. These proposals would disproportionately harm the most vulnerable, including:

• Over 30 million children, nearly half of all kids in America, who rely on Medicaid and CHIP for essential care;
• 8 million low-income seniors, including the 6 in 10 Americans in nursing homes whose long-term care is covered by Medicaid;
• 15 million people with disabilities, including children with autism and adults with serious mental illness;
• Pregnant people and new mothers, with Medicaid covering 4 in 10 births in the U.S.;
• Nearly 1 million veterans, many of whom depend on Medicaid for part or all of their care.

These are the Americans who can least afford to lose their health care.

But it’s not just our patients who rely on Medicaid who will be harmed. In rural areas of the United States, where many hospitals and clinics are already struggling to stay open, Medicaid payments are absolutely critical. Without them, rural hospitals and clinics could be forced to close their doors, jeopardizing access to care for all people in their areas.

Doctors, our patients, and the American people at large understand these threats to care. An overwhelming majority — Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike — oppose cuts to Medicaid. They know it’s a critical source of health care for themselves, their loved ones, or their neighbors.

We call on you to reject this dangerous budget. Protect your constituents. Protect our patients. Stop the cuts to Medicaid.

Sincerely,

Rob Davidson, MD, MPH

Executive Director

Co-signed by over 4,000 concerned U.S. physicians.