Collage by David Pham
Eight community-based organizations jointly launched the “Empty Plate Protest” on June 23 to highlight the impact of Senate budget cuts on food and medical safety nets.
The protest encourages supporters to fast for 24 hours for any one day. The protest will continue until Congress goes on recess on July 4. “Each meal sacrificed represents 500 Americans who will either lose their life or go hungry, lose healthcare, and pay more for basic needs if these cuts are passed by the House and Senate,” wrote the coalition of organizations in their appeal.
‘Big Beautiful Bill’
The House narrowly passed its version of the budget reconciliation bill on May 22, stripping an estimated $715 billion from Medicaid and $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The Senate is expected to pass its version before the July 4 recess. The goal of budget reconciliation is to cut $1.5 trillion in spending and support $4 trillion in tax cuts over the next five years, a promise President Donald Trump made on the campaign trail. Opponents of the cuts liken it to a reverse Robin Hood: taking safety nets from low-income people to benefit the wealthy.
Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA, stated at a press briefing on June 23 that the Senate’s cuts to Medicaid are significantly steeper than those proposed by the House.
” Even with everything that’s going on in the world right now, the Senate is meeting today to ram this bill through,” said Wright. Sixteen million Americans are expected to lose health coverage if the measure known as the “big, beautiful bill” is passed, he said, adding: “Millions will lose health care and millions will go hungry.”
New Work Requirements
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill would require people to verify every 6 months that they have worked for at least 80 hours per month to qualify for Medicaid, unless they are incapacitated. The bill also imposes work requirements on SNAP recipients with children over the age of 7, as well as people over the age of 54, in contrast to current law. A KFF study released earlier this year noted that almost 2/3 of Medicaid recipients currently work.
The additional paperwork will mean people will fall off one or both programs, said Rhonda Rogombé, health and safety net policy analyst at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. “People who are eligible may simply fall by the wayside,” she said, noting the burdens of proving eligibility every 6 months, either via an employer or a medical professional.
Rural Hospitals
The biggest blow will be to rural hospitals, said Richard Sutphin, executive director of the West Virginia Rural Health Association. He spoke about a hospital in his state that serves seven counties. That hospital had over 38,000 visits in 2023, including 3,700 emergency room visits, 1,200 ambulance runs, and 8,547 long-term care patients. Sutphin said this hospital, like many of the 700 rural hospitals around the country, faces closure or extreme scale-backs in services if the Medicaid budget is slashed.
Neither states nor philanthropy will be able to backfill the cuts, noted several speakers at the June 23 press conference.
Wright of Families USA said many hospitals are already on the brink, with negative net revenue. Families USA released a report on June 23, detailing the impact of proposed cuts to Medicaid on rural hospitals throughout the United States. Should the bill pass, 380 rural hospitals would face a serious risk of closure.
–American Community Media
