FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 3, 2025
Contact: Jack Cardinal, jcardinal@communitycatalyst.org

“This isn’t fiscal discipline – it’s economic sabotage that every employer, caregiver, and family will feel in higher premiums, lost productivity, and worsened health outcomes.” 

BOSTON, MA — Today, Republicans in Congress rushed to approve the largest health care cuts in U.S. history. The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” slashes Medicaid, guts programs that make coverage more affordable, and will terminate health care for 17 million people – including older adults in long-term care, people with disabilities, immigrants, caregivers, workers with unstable hours, and women of reproductive age.

By dismantling Medicaid and ACA Marketplaces, this bill will shutter rural hospitals, spike medical debt, and drain billions from local economies that depend on a healthy workforce.

“Once again, Congress has chosen to protect corporate profits and billionaire tax breaks over people’s lives and our communities’ economic future,” said Mona Shah, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy at Community Catalyst. “This isn’t fiscal discipline – it’s economic sabotage that every employer, caregiver, and family will feel in higher premiums, lost productivity, and worsened health outcomes. This isn’t just about coverage loss – it’s about higher costs for everyone, disrupted maternal and reproductive care, and destabilized health systems at every level.”

At its core, this bill is a massive transfer of wealth from families to corporations and the ultra-wealthy – funded by terminating care for millions through unnecessary red tape, harmful reporting requirements, and slashed coverage options. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) makes it plain: the wealthiest will gain $12,000 through tax breaks. Meanwhile, those already struggling will lose $1,600 a year and could lose their health care coverage.

The Impact  
  • Increased Costs for Everyone: More than 17 million people will lose their health insurance. Hospitals and insurance companies will absorb those costs – resulting in higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs for everyone. The burden will fall on both insured and uninsured families.
  • More Medical Debt: Millions will lose Medicaid or Marketplace coverage, especially in high-population states like Texas, Florida, Georgia and California. Without affordable coverage, families will face impossible choices: seek the care they need – or fall into debt. One diagnosis could now mean a lifetime of medical debt.
  • Hospital Closures and Fewer Care Options: States will be forced to choose between cutting health services or gutting other essentials like schools, infrastructure, and public safety. Rural hospitals are at risk of closure. Maternal and reproductive care services will be especially hard hit. When hospitals close, local jobs vanish and entire communities suffer.

As this bill takes effect, the consequences are no longer a “what if” – they’re a “when.” While families lose care and costs rise, corporations and the ultra-wealthy are rewarded yet again.

What Comes Next?

A recent HIT Strategies poll shows that 73% of voters want the government to do more to lower health care costs and protect access to affordable care as a public good. Congress just did the opposite.

“Across the country, people are demanding a system that puts people over profit – one that protects maternal and reproductive health, covers workers with unpredictable hours, and lets families care for children and aging parents without going broke. We are not moving on – because our communities can’t,” said Angie Postal, Senior Director of Programs and Advocacy at Community Catalyst. “We’re mobilizing partners, communities, and funders to turn this setback into a turning point – and to prove that what’s morally urgent is also economically smart. The fight for health justice doesn’t end here. We’re building a system where everyone gets the care and dignity they deserve.”

With federal cuts looming, states will soon face impossible choices: keep people covered, or cut funding for schools, infrastructure, and emergency responders. These outcomes weren’t accidental – they were policy choices. Choices that put tax breaks for billionaires ahead of people’s care, and corporate profits ahead of community health.

At Community Catalyst, we won’t let this moment fade. Alongside our 350+ partners, we’ll continue to mitigate the harm of these policy decisions and build people-powered momentum to reimagine a health system where care – not profit – comes first.

###

About Community Catalyst:

Community Catalyst is a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. We’re an experienced, trusted partner to organizations across the country, a change agent to policymakers at the local, state, and national level, and both an adversary and a collaborator to health systems in our efforts to advance health justice. We partner with local, state and national organizations and leaders to leverage and build power so that people are at the center of important decisions about health and health care, whether they are made by health care executives, in state houses, or on Capitol Hill. Together with partners, we’re building a powerful, united movement with a shared vision of and strategy for a health system accountable to all people. Learn more at www.communitycatalyst.org.