The Devastating Consequences of the Republican Party’s Budget Reconciliation Bill

The upcoming budget reconciliation bill, dubbed "One Big Beautiful Bill" by President Donald Trump, is set to have a devastating impact on the healthcare system. A recent study reveals that the proposed Medicaid cuts could lead to a significant increase in preventable deaths, with thousands of Americans losing their lives each year.

The Study’s Findings

Researchers from Harvard and other institutions analyzed the health impacts of six GOP-proposed Medicaid cuts, including those in the current bill. The study estimates that the bill will cause millions of Americans to lose their primary care doctor, resulting in over 16,000 additional preventable deaths annually. The bill’s provisions will disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable, further enriching the wealthy at their expense.

"If Congress passes this law, it is saying quite clearly that the health and the lives of the poor matter less than the bank balances of the wealthy."

The Bill’s Intentions and Consequences

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts and enact other administration priorities. However, to offset the loss of tax revenue and cover new expenditures, Republicans have proposed cuts to government-funded programs, particularly Medicaid. The researchers examined the six biggest Medicaid cuts proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Budget Committee, which could trim at least $100 billion in Medicaid spending over a decade.

The Estimated Toll on Americans’ Health

The study’s estimates are alarming. In the most likely scenario, 1.9 million Americans will lose their primary care doctor, 1.3 million will avoid taking needed medications, 1.2 million will go into medical debt, and nearly 400,000 women will skip their mammograms. Annually, these cuts will contribute to 16,642 preventable deaths, with estimates ranging from 8,241 to 24,604 deaths per year.

The Researchers’ Warning

"The Medicaid cuts now under consideration in Congress would take healthcare from millions of Americans and cause thousands of medically-preventable deaths, all to cover the cost of tax cuts that mostly benefit the well-to-do," said lead author Adam Gaffney, a critical care physician and public health researcher at Harvard Medical School.

The Potential Underestimation of Harm

The researchers note that their estimates may be conservative, as they did not analyze other indirect consequences of the Medicaid cuts, such as states diverting funds from other programs to cover funding shortfalls. A separate estimate by Yale and University of Pennsylvania researchers suggests that the bill could lead to over 50,000 deaths annually.

The Trump Administration’s Plan

The Trump administration’s plan to strip away healthcare from millions of people will have severe consequences. The bill’s intention to transfer wealth to the richest Americans while increasing the federal debt is a further insult to injury.

"If Congress passes this law, it is saying quite clearly that the health and the lives of the poor matter less than the bank balances of the wealthy," Gaffney said.