RELEASE: Josh Hawley Vows to Cut Medicaid, Turns Back on Missourians
Senator Josh Hawley announced his intention to vote for the GOP budget bill (H.R. 1), which includes significant cuts to Medicaid. After publicly warning that cutting Medicaid would harm working families, close rural hospitals and take health care away from Missouri’s children and seniors, he’s now turning his back on Missourians to protect corporations.
“Senator Hawley’s vote to cut Medicaid will be devastating for the very people he claims to represent. Rural hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down care. Caregivers will burn out and older adults will suffer. It’s only going to get worse,” Christi Lero, a hospice social worker serving rural Missouri families, said. “These aren’t hypotheticals. We already have staff shortages for long-term care and nursing, hospice programs are strained, and families are facing impossible choices. With this vote, Hawley will condemn Missourians to a worsened health care crisis.”
Hawley’s vote isn’t a surprise. It’s a pattern. Hawley frequently talks about standing with working people, but when it’s time to act, he sides with billionaire donors and corporate interests, not Missourians.
More than one million Missourians rely on Medicaid. This is a direct attack on the care they depend on to live and work, and for some, to take care of their families.
Erich Arvidson, a rural small business owner and caregiver from Boonville, said Hawley’s vote is personal and will be devastating. “Sen. Hawley’s vote will tell families like mine we’re expendable. I grew up on Medicaid. I also watched both of my parents die without the care they needed before Missouri expanded coverage,” he said. “We’ve fought to move forward, and now Hawley is dragging us back.
Missourians will bear the consequences of Hawley’s decision to put profit over people. More than 170,000 Missourians risk losing health care coverage if this bill goes into effect, and numerous rural hospitals will face closure.
Josh Hawley does not stand for the working class.
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