Republicans Are Pulling the Plug on Healthcare

American healthcare is on life support, and Republican policies now threaten to pull the plug. Last summer, all but five GOP lawmakers worked with the Trump administration to enact the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a law that defunds healthcare for working families, all while funding tax breaks for billionaires. That’s why I testified at an Oct. 8 hearing held by House Democrats in Washington, D.C., to speak out against this partisan law—because it will deepen a crisis at every level of our healthcare system. As an emergency physician in Oregon with Northwest Medicine United, AFT Local 6552, I have had the privilege of serving my community for more than a decade. Emergency physicians treat anyone in need of care, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. The emergency room is often referred to as the frontline of healthcare, but I think it’s more accurate to call it the epicenter. When the tectonic plates of healthcare policies shift, we feel every tremor and aftershock. We see the effects on our patients, their families, primary care providers, and doctors from every medical specialty.  For years, emergency medicine professionals have been sounding the alarm. There are nationwide nurse shortages, declining numbers of primary care providers, overflowing hospitals, and ever-increasing ER wait times. The COVID pandemic worsened these challenges, overwhelming hospitals with more and sicker patients than they had ever seen. Healthcare has never fully recovered. Patients still receive care in hallways and wait hours or even days to be admitted. What is portrayed on the HBO Max show The Pitt is what ER doctors and patients see every day. Now, I’m more concerned than ever about what the future holds for our patients. Republicans’ tax law slashed Medicaid and did nothing to extend tax credits that make healthcare affordable. Unless Congress acts, up to 15 million Americans, including small-business owners and working families, risk losing their health insurance by 2034. Millions more will see their insurance premiums more than double. Because of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” families will have to choose between paying for insurance, or for groceries or rent. Our friends, family, and neighbors will have to delay care, forgo seeing a doctor, or skip medications because they can’t afford them. People will seek care later, get sicker, and, tragically, suffer or die unnecessarily. This will affect not just people on Medicaid, but also those with private insurance or Medicare. The Republican Party controls the White House and Congress. Its cuts are already causing hospitals and clinics to close, especially in rural areas. When that happens, even Americans lucky enough to still have insurance are forced to travel farther to get care—extra miles that can make the difference between a full, independent recovery and being bedridden or even dying when it comes to time-sensitive emergencies like strokes or heart attacks. Patients without primary care or insurance will turn to ERs for their care, and this will further increase overcrowding and wait times. Delays in care will make treatable conditions life-threatening in red and blue communities alike; medical emergencies don’t recognize party affiliation. These cuts aren’t trimming fat, they’re cutting to the bone. But it doesn’t have to be this way. What we need is simple: We must protect and expand coverage, invest in safe staffing, and fund community hospitals so care is available where people live.  The diagnosis is clear: Healthcare is in critical condition. As an emergency physician, I will stop at nothing to do the right thing for a patient in crisis. Republicans in Congress must be willing to do the same. They must end this government shutdown and work with Democrats to treat the problem and ensure continued healthcare for Americans. If they decide to pull the plug on healthcare, we will all feel the loss.