“America’s Changing Healthcare System”
The Lie:
You can already feel our healthcare system fracturing. Insurance premiums are skyrocketing, people are losing coverage, and local hospitals are quietly reducing services. But you’re hearing contradictory reports about why. Despite repeatedly promising to protect healthcare coverage, President Trump signed legislation in mid 2025 that began a massive contraction in federal healthcare spending. Republicans in Congress falsely claim these deep cuts merely target waste, fraud and abuse and that they are strengthening and safeguar
Closer to home, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman claims New York’s healthcare spending is out of control. He compares NY expenditures with Texas and Florida. But in reality, far more New Yorkers are insured and healthcare insurance is more accessible to New Yorkers.
Why You May Believe the Lie:
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the healthcare cuts, while all but five Republicans voted for it, despite the devastating impacts on their constituents. Many Republicans misrepresente
To mask the deeply unpopular reality of these healthcare cuts, which have only begun to kick in, the Trump Administration is seeking to re-brand the law. Initially known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Republicans are trying to hide the severe healthcare rollbacks behind an appealing, family-focused title, and are now referring to it as the “Working Families Tax Cut.”
The Truth:
Federal funding cuts trigger a destructive chain reaction that increases health care costs for everyone – Americans on Medicaid, Medicare, Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans, and private job-based insurance alike.
As of Summer 2026, enrollment in Medicaid/CHIP and the ACA Marketplace already declined by about 8 million people since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. (Medicaid/CHIP is down 3.8 million people; and ACA Marketplace is down 3 – 4 million people.) And that’s before the deepest healthcare cuts kick in – starting in 2027 – which are expected to cause an additional 10 – 15 million people to lose insurance.
The decline in Affordable Care Act Marketplace Tax Credits enrollment came after the expiration of more generous subsidies at the end of 2025 made premiums more expensive, leading many people to drop coverage. Democrats sought to include renewal of the expiring tax credit subsidies in the omnibus OBBBA, but as the minority party, were unsuccessful. (See Deceived Nation Primer #1 on ACA Marketplace Tax Credits for more information)
Here is why this hurts your health and wallet:
- Skyrocketing Healthcare Premiums: Kicking millions of people off of healthcare coverage destabilizes insurance risk pools. Private insurance companies are left covering a sicker remaining pool of patients, causing monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs to soar. In addition, reduced hospital revenues put upward pressure on prices for middle-class and wealthy patients covered by private insurance. So private job-related insurance costs go up because insurance companies are spending more money caring for sicker people. As fewer people are able to afford the higher premiums, monthly premiums and out-of-pocket expenses continue to rise.
- Worse Local ER Bottlenecks: When federal revenues dry up, community safety-net hospitals face a severe financial crisis. Deficits force providers to downsize inpatient beds, reduce services, and cut local staffing. This results in longer, more dangerous wait times at your nearest Emergency Room during a family crisis.
- Deeper Blakeman Cuts Looming: Although many people think about Medicaid as a federal program, it is administered and jointly funded by states within broad federal rules. NYS Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has defended the Republican federal cuts, and told Fox Business News in July 2026 that he would make even deeper healthcare cuts if elected Governor of New York.
NY Impacts:
- Putting NY Hospitals at risk: As of April 2026, 45 hospitals (nearly 25% of all hospitals across NY) are “at risk” of closure, severe service cuts, or mass layoffs.
- Essential Plan Cuts: The Essential Plan is a state-administered health insurance program for low-to-middle-income New Yorkers. Federal cuts forced New York State to modify its Essential Plan, which went into effect July 1, 2026. An estimated 450,000 to 480,000 low-to-middle-income New Yorkers lost their health insurance, when the income eligibility threshold went from 250% of the federal poverty level (an annual income of $39,125 for a single adult and $80,375 for a family of four), to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level ($31,300 for a single person and $66,000 for a family of four).
Action You Can Take:
- Share this post on your social media and email and discuss it with your friends.
- Take action to support the New York Health Act. Contact your NY State Senator and Assembly Member, WEEKLY and urge them to #PassNYHealth. Click